Indeed. I wholly support getting rid of them (Canada and the Eurozone eliminated their 0.01 coins years ago). But the Constitution is clear: only Congress can make decisions about coinage. (Fun fact: This doesn’t apply to currency, which is why the BEP and Federal Reserve can update the design of bills.)
I had never thought of passed kidney stones as a form of currency until I read your comment, Lynn, and now I think I would surely want more than one cent for that ordeal.
When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, we'd go to the local train station (it was the Pennsylvania Railroad, in those days before Amtrak), and place a penny on the top surface of the rails. After the train left we'd retrieve our pennies, which had been flattened to the thinness of a piece of paper.
I say we have the Treasury melt the pennies down to make a statue of our fearless leader. They're the perfect color. And let's get the ball rolling with a campaign to encourage every American to contribute to the effort by sending a single penny in an envelope to the White House. You've heard of the March of Dimes? This is the Cavalcade of Copper.
You don’t consider whether he has the legal authority to eliminate the penny. I don’t know, but, as a (retired) lawyer, I’d guess that he has the authority only if Congress has enacted a statute giving it to him. This may be another attempt to seize the legislative power (with congressional Republicans’ approval). Vance has advocated ignoring the courts. Trump’s goal is to end the separation of powers. He’d have them all, making him a dictator.
Penny-whizzing wasn't a feature of my childhood. I initially thought "whizzing" in the sense of urinating, and was intrigued by the premise. I do, however, vividly recall my father converting a clothespin into a tiny catapult that would simultaneously ignite and launch a kitchen match. I never figured out how he did it, despite feverish attempts to build my own, and I'm pretty sure my mother knew nothing about it. Now, of course, there are YouTube videos walking us through the process, but knowing that makes it somehow less fun.
According to the U.S. mint, in 2024 it cost 3.7 cents to manufacture a penny. It also cost them 14 cents apiece to make a nickel. If abandoning the penny is such a cost saver, why not eliminate all coinage and simply charge in even dollars. The administration could make it legal to "deface" currency by allowing folks to snip up their bills in proportion to any partial dollar cost of their purchase after tax. Of course, this would require a redesign of the wallet to make space for all those valuable currency scraps. Next problem, Donald!
Here's the answer: "So why target pennies instead of nickels? Because the Mint makes far more pennies. In 2024, the Mint shipped nearly 3.2 billion pennies. It shipped only 202 million nickels. The net loss from producing pennies was about five times the net loss from producing nickels." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/10/trump-us-mint-pennies-nickels-production)
I'll have to think on your suggestion for a bit. Meanwhile, I'm not at all sure why we're thinking about money in terms of how much it costs to produce. Further study shows that it costs mere pennies to produce currency - pennies, for example, to manufacture a $100 bill. The actual value of the paper bill, regardless of its denomination, is not found in the paper itself. The value (or worth, if you will) is in what it represents and consequently, what it will purchase. If the penny is not useful then a case can be made for eliminating it. If the penny IS useful, we should retain it.
When gas is $3.49 and 9/10th of a penny, restaurant tax is $ .825 percent, I always suspected that the push to eliminate the penny was a way to slip in more 'rounded up taxes.' We groan about how education has dumbed down for our kids, and now we'll be sure they can only count by fives. Actually surprised he didn't decide to replace Lincoln and continue to print pennies, calling them rare collector items likenesses of himself, sold by the Treasury in a cheap plastic and faux-fold frame for the limited edition price of $299 per set.
I actually do feel I have to say 'and 9/10th' because it is absurd. Are we still cutting coins into piece of eight? Saying in out loud as 'and 9/10th' makes is sound more absurd than .999 to me.
What about all those machines that smash Pennies and stamp other pictures on them? Are they going to be laid off or forced to resign because of this action?
I was in the UK last September, they are encouraging going cashless! It is easier to just tap and go, but I found myself in front of one of those machines at the Tower Bridge without a pence or pound on me…..
I remember, back in the mid-1960s, reading in My Weekly Reader that in the future we would not use physical money but instead the stores would contact your bank to take the $ from your account. They got that right, so where is my flying car and personal jet pack???
My understanding is that this would, or at least should, require an act of congress. The elimination of the penny, that is, not the whizzing of one.
Literally *everything* he's tried to shove through (or announce via TruthSocial) requires an act of Congress. Why should this be any different?
Indeed. I wholly support getting rid of them (Canada and the Eurozone eliminated their 0.01 coins years ago). But the Constitution is clear: only Congress can make decisions about coinage. (Fun fact: This doesn’t apply to currency, which is why the BEP and Federal Reserve can update the design of bills.)
Perhaps criminal law will cover whizzing. Of pennies , that is. Well, depending on where you whiz, I guess, that might be covered, too.
I had never thought of passed kidney stones as a form of currency until I read your comment, Lynn, and now I think I would surely want more than one cent for that ordeal.
Well there is that. I’m trying to not get complacent about it.
Think of how much us old people's pennies will be worth after they aren't made anymore!
😂 and will Trump hoard pennies?
Yep, I've got a jarful of them.
I wonder how many people watched, as I did, all three times. I did enjoy hearing that lady from your studio audience, however.
When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, we'd go to the local train station (it was the Pennsylvania Railroad, in those days before Amtrak), and place a penny on the top surface of the rails. After the train left we'd retrieve our pennies, which had been flattened to the thinness of a piece of paper.
Maybe "growing up" is overstating things.
Now you can go into any number of touristy places and pay a QUARTER for the privilege of having your penny flattened.
I say we have the Treasury melt the pennies down to make a statue of our fearless leader. They're the perfect color. And let's get the ball rolling with a campaign to encourage every American to contribute to the effort by sending a single penny in an envelope to the White House. You've heard of the March of Dimes? This is the Cavalcade of Copper.
I would like to whiz one at Herr Shitler and see it lodge in his orange sprayed hair. He probably wouldn't even notice, like Pence and the Fly.
Nickels and dimes don't squash nearly as well as pennies on train tracks. I speak from experience.
Thanks, Gene. I can't believe this didn't become an Olympic event.
I think we need a close-up slow-motion video to show how it's actually done.
Yes, I heartily agree.
It's only because he hates Lincoln
He's greater than Lincoln
So he says....
You don’t consider whether he has the legal authority to eliminate the penny. I don’t know, but, as a (retired) lawyer, I’d guess that he has the authority only if Congress has enacted a statute giving it to him. This may be another attempt to seize the legislative power (with congressional Republicans’ approval). Vance has advocated ignoring the courts. Trump’s goal is to end the separation of powers. He’d have them all, making him a dictator.
Ever since Putin showed him the video, I think he's trying to get rid of anything that involves whizzing.
Penny-whizzing wasn't a feature of my childhood. I initially thought "whizzing" in the sense of urinating, and was intrigued by the premise. I do, however, vividly recall my father converting a clothespin into a tiny catapult that would simultaneously ignite and launch a kitchen match. I never figured out how he did it, despite feverish attempts to build my own, and I'm pretty sure my mother knew nothing about it. Now, of course, there are YouTube videos walking us through the process, but knowing that makes it somehow less fun.
According to the U.S. mint, in 2024 it cost 3.7 cents to manufacture a penny. It also cost them 14 cents apiece to make a nickel. If abandoning the penny is such a cost saver, why not eliminate all coinage and simply charge in even dollars. The administration could make it legal to "deface" currency by allowing folks to snip up their bills in proportion to any partial dollar cost of their purchase after tax. Of course, this would require a redesign of the wallet to make space for all those valuable currency scraps. Next problem, Donald!
Why not make a new copper sandwich coin (costing 3.7 cents) and call it a nickel (after eliminating the penny)?
Here's the answer: "So why target pennies instead of nickels? Because the Mint makes far more pennies. In 2024, the Mint shipped nearly 3.2 billion pennies. It shipped only 202 million nickels. The net loss from producing pennies was about five times the net loss from producing nickels." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/10/trump-us-mint-pennies-nickels-production)
I'll have to think on your suggestion for a bit. Meanwhile, I'm not at all sure why we're thinking about money in terms of how much it costs to produce. Further study shows that it costs mere pennies to produce currency - pennies, for example, to manufacture a $100 bill. The actual value of the paper bill, regardless of its denomination, is not found in the paper itself. The value (or worth, if you will) is in what it represents and consequently, what it will purchase. If the penny is not useful then a case can be made for eliminating it. If the penny IS useful, we should retain it.
We need to develop a tradition that parallels this Canadian tradition:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/spocking-money-legal-inappropriate-bank-canada/story?id=29381790
When gas is $3.49 and 9/10th of a penny, restaurant tax is $ .825 percent, I always suspected that the push to eliminate the penny was a way to slip in more 'rounded up taxes.' We groan about how education has dumbed down for our kids, and now we'll be sure they can only count by fives. Actually surprised he didn't decide to replace Lincoln and continue to print pennies, calling them rare collector items likenesses of himself, sold by the Treasury in a cheap plastic and faux-fold frame for the limited edition price of $299 per set.
I actually do feel I have to say 'and 9/10th' because it is absurd. Are we still cutting coins into piece of eight? Saying in out loud as 'and 9/10th' makes is sound more absurd than .999 to me.
You do know you don't have to write "$3.49 and 9/10th of a penny." The price is $3.499. Actually here lately it's closer to $2.649.
I wish it was under $3 where I am. I just went to Costco and paid $3.14 a gallon for the cheap stuff.
It was actually $2.619 at Murphy when I went to Walmart this afternoon.
Shhhhhhhh....don't give Il Douche ideas.
What about all those machines that smash Pennies and stamp other pictures on them? Are they going to be laid off or forced to resign because of this action?
I was in the UK last September, they are encouraging going cashless! It is easier to just tap and go, but I found myself in front of one of those machines at the Tower Bridge without a pence or pound on me…..
I remember, back in the mid-1960s, reading in My Weekly Reader that in the future we would not use physical money but instead the stores would contact your bank to take the $ from your account. They got that right, so where is my flying car and personal jet pack???
Well, you did get your flat TV you can hang on wall!
Do nickels work on railroad tracks?
I only wonder why Trump did not wait until Wednesday so this announcement would come out on Lincoln's birthday.
He probably doesn't even know when Lincoln's birthday is