The U.S. Is Officially Killing the Penny—Here’s Why It Matters

Find a penny pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck…. JUST KIDDING BECAUSE PENNIES ARE LEAVING US… Kind of. 

So apparently after the Super Bowl, President Trump announced that the U.S. government will stop minting new pennies, because—get this—it actually costs more than a penny to make one. Trump Said:

"For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than TWO cents. This is so wasteful!"

According to the U.S. Mint, a single penny costs 3.7 cents to produce. But hold onto your coin jars, because ditching the penny could cause a new problem: We might need more nickels . . . which are even worse. Each nickel costs 13.8 cents to make. 

Beyond the money math, there’s another issue: What happens to prices? 

Experts say businesses will start rounding up or down to the nearest five cents. And let’s be real, when has a store ever decided to round down? 

Canada scrapped its one-cent coin in 2012, and studies showed that Canadians ended up paying more at grocery stores every year. *Cries in Spanish*

So, what now? A fully cashless society? Or do we just keep hoarding pennies in our junk drawers forever? Either way, one thing is clear—if you drop a penny on the ground, you might as well leave it.