The Common Cents Act was passed unanimously by the Senate this week and will now be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk. The bill, titled H.R. 10167—a revised and expanded version of H.R. 3074—would formally end production of pennies after 234 years and change how cash transactions are handled as pennies are phased out. As pennies would become less available, cash transactions could be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents when exact change isn't available.
Amounts ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents would be rounded down to the nearest nickel; amounts ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 would be rounded up. Small transactions totaling just 1 or 2 cents could be rounded up to 5 cents. Businesses can also round up when paying customers in cash and round down when customers are paying them, in favor of the customer.
The bill would formally end production of pennies for general circulation, though existing pennies would remain legal tender, so people could still use them. The penny is being phased out as it costs more to produce than its face value. The Treasury Department says it costs about 3.69 cents to make each coin, and ending their production is expected to save about $56 million a year in material costs.
The rounding rules apply to cash transactions only. If shoppers are paying by credit or debit card, check or another non-cash method, they would still be charged the exact amount. The bill includes a provision allowing the Treasury to change the composition of nickels, including using zinc, if testing shows it would reduce production costs.
A single nickel cost more than 13 cents to produce in the last fiscal year. The Common Cents Act was introduced in 2025 after Trump directed the Treasury to stop producing pennies. The House and Senate initially passed different versions of the bill, before the Senate added provisions on nickel composition and rules surrounding the discontinuation of other coins, requiring 60 days' advance notice to Congress before the Treasury can discontinue another circulating coin.
The House then approved the revised version, and the Senate gave final approval this week, clearing the way for the bill to be sent to the president. Trump previously described penny production as "wasteful," saying in a 2025 Truth Social post: "Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it’s a penny at a time." Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Dave Siminoff.
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