US Mint has put billions of new pennies into circulation since 2023 | Fact check

The claim: The US Mint said it hasn’t made pennies since April 2023

A Feb. 11 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes an image suggesting President Donald Trump’s order for the Treasury Department to stop making new pennies is redundant. 

“U.S. Mint: ‘We have not made a batch of pennies since April of 2023,’” reads the text on the image, which is a screenshot of an X post. “Trump, 2025: ‘I have strongly ordered the U.S. Mint to immediately stop making pennies!’”  

The Facebook post was shared more than 100 times in a day, and the X version was reposted more than 7,000 times. Another version of the claim spread widely on Facebook.

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Our rating: False

U.S. Mint data shows it has minted billions of pennies since 2023.  

Mint data shows penny cost nearing 4 cents

Trump announced on Feb. 9 that he had told the Treasury Department to stop producing new pennies, as reported by USA TODAY. Trump cited the high cost of producing pennies compared to their value and called their continued production “so wasteful!” in a Truth Social post.

Trump’s order came a few weeks after the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, also referenced the taxpayercost of minting new pennies. 

But there’s no evidence the Mint ever claimed to have stopped penny production in April 2023, and its own data contradicts the claim. 

It produced more than 4.5 billion pennies in 2023, 3.2 billion in 2024 and had made more than 240 million in 2025 as of Feb. 13, according to its website. 

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The agency’s 2024 annual report said the penny’s cost was “above face value” for the 19th year in a row. It cost 3.69 cents to produce a penny in 2024, up from 3.07 cents in 2023.  USA TODAY reached out to the Mint and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

Our fact-check sources

• U.S. Mint, accessed Feb. 12, Circulating Coins Production 
• U.S. Mint, accessed Feb. 13, 2024 annual report

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