Congress just voted to stop making the penny, and the fine print says the nickel could get a cheaper makeover next.
Quick Take
- The Common Cents Act ends penny production for everyday use but keeps the coin as legal tender.
- The same bill lets the Treasury Department redesign the nickel with cheaper metals.
- Cash purchases will round to the nearest five cents once pennies run dry.
- Treasury already halted new penny production in 2025 under a Trump directive.
What the Common Cents Act Actually Does
The Common Cents Act, H.R. 10167, directs the Treasury Department to stop making pennies for everyday circulation. Lawmakers already saw this coming. President Trump ordered Treasury to halt new penny production back in 2025, and the Mint pressed its last one-cent coins that year. The bill now turns that executive decision into permanent law instead of a policy that could be reversed later.
The penny does not vanish entirely. Bipartisan sponsors Rep. Lisa McClain and Rep. Robert Garcia built in a safeguard: the coin stays legal tender. Stores, banks, and anyone holding a jar of pennies can still spend them. Congress is only shutting off the supply of new pennies, not erasing the ones already sitting in pockets and cash registers across the country.
A Timeline Already in Motion
House Report 119-235 spells out the schedule. Once signed into law, Treasury gets one year to officially end penny production. Because the Mint already ran its final presses, the bill mostly locks in a change that was already underway. Still, writing it into law closes the door on any future administration simply restarting the coin presses on a whim.
Buried in the same bill is a line most headlines skip. The nickel can now be made from different materials. Today’s five-cent coin costs nearly three times its face value to produce, driven by rising copper and nickel metal prices. The bill lets Treasury test a cheaper design, including one that clads a zinc core with a thin nickel outer layer.
Why the Nickel Redesign Isn’t a Done Deal
Nothing in the law forces Treasury’s hand. The nickel language is permissive, giving officials room to study cheaper blends without committing to one immediately. Any new design still has to work in vending machines, parking meters, and laundromats nationwide. That requirement limits how fast, or how far, the Mint can push a redesign before it reaches store counters.
How Rounding Will Work at the Register
Cash transactions will round to the nearest five cents once pennies run out. Totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents round down. Totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents round up. Card and mobile payments stay exact to the penny, since rounding only applies to physical cash handed across the counter.
Economists at the Richmond Federal Reserve describe the shift as mostly a logistics problem, not a threat to the dollar’s value. States are already moving faster than Washington on the details. Florida passed its own rounding law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, to give retailers clear rules while the national supply of pennies slowly shrinks in cash drawers everywhere.
Treasury says it will keep roughly 114 billion existing pennies circulating for as long as possible, so nobody needs to panic about today’s purchases. The real test comes later, as that stockpile shrinks and stores lean harder on nickels, dimes, and rounding rules to make correct change at checkout counters nationwide.
A Pattern of Coin Reform, Not a Break From It
America has retired coins before without much fuss. Congress cut the half-cent in 1857 and the $2.50 gold coin in 1930, and Treasury stopped making circulating dollar coins in 2011. The penny, and possibly the nickel, fit that same pattern: a small coin loses its usefulness once it costs more to make than it is worth.
For most Americans, the change saves tax dollars without changing what a dollar actually buys at the store. The open question is whether a cheaper nickel reaches circulation as smoothly as sponsors expect, or whether vending machines and parking meters built for the old coin create the next small-change headache for Washington to untangle.
Sources:
congress.gov, grocerydive.com, political.org
