Minting Pennies, Legalities and Economics of Executive Authority
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/22
Oliver Morrisey is the owner and director of Empower Wills and Estate Lawyers, a leading Australian law practice specializing in wills and estate law. With 15 years of legal experience, Oliver’s sole objective is to deliver the best results for his clients, and he achieves this through a unique combination of expert knowledge, personalized service, and strategy. Michael Montgomery is a political scientist at University of Michigan-Dearborn, specializing in U.S. elections, presidential power, public policy, and philanthropy, with a background as a U.S. diplomat in economic affairs. Ben Michael is the founding attorney of Michael & Associates, specializing in DUI/DWI, assault, drug possession, and felony defense. Recognized as a Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorney in Texas, he provides personalized, high-touch legal representation with a focus on dismissals and minimizing court time. Clients receive 24/7 direct attorney access and strategic, case-specific defense to achieve the best possible outcome.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is the legal and policy environment and allowance for the executive regarding the cessation of pennies from circulation ot not?
Oliver Morrisey: The power to print money lies with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, but discontinuing a particular denomination is not as straightforward as an executive order. The Coinage Act of 1965, as amended, constitutes the legal foundation for the minting of U.S. coins. The President alone does not have the power to discontinue a coin without Congress’ approval because the Constitution places the authority to regulate money in the hands of Congress. That would render any move to stop the minting of pennies a legislative matter rather than an executive action alone.
There have been discussions in the past about eliminating the penny since it is more expensive to produce than its value, but those discussions have ceased in Congress. Should Trump issue that directive, it would likely be taken to court, and the judges would most likely rule that the Treasury needs congressional approval before it can act. Should Congress approve legislation to eliminate the penny, then the Treasury could proceed, but short of that, the law remains clear.
Michael Montgomery: Removing pennies from circulation would probably require legislation. To just not mint more pennies, however, probably would not. When Canada eliminated the penny, researchers found that prices generally were rounded-up imposing a penalty on consumers.
Ben Michael: From a legal perspective, there are people who hold different opinions about whether or not the President actually has the ability to stop minting pennies. Most, however, believe that this kind of action is something that would require Congress to make the decision as they have authority over the United States Mint according to the Treasury. Those who do believe the President has the power to make this happen believe there to be some room for interpretation in the wording of the articles in the Constitution that outline this kind of authority.
Right now, we are seeing that there is a bit of debate among experts about whether or not the President has constitutional authority to have the Treasury Department cease minting pennies. The majority of legal experts, however, don’t believe that the President has this authority. The primary reasoning behind this is because in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, authority over the US Mint is seemingly that of Congress – “The Congress shall have power … to coin money [and] regulate the value thereof.” So, it would be the legislative branch that ultimately has the power to make the Treasury Department cease minting pennies, not the executive branch. However, there are people who do believe the President has the right to instruct this, and that’s partly due to different interpretations of the wording of the law. Some also argue that the Treasury Secretary himself has the power to cease minting pennies, and since this position is appointed by the President, then the President at least has significant influence over this kind of decision. Even so, many who agree with this position still affirm the notion that Congress would still have to be the ones to put this into law.
So, while the majority of legal experts believe the President doesn’t have the authority to have the Treasury Department cease minting pennies, the fact that there are legal experts who hold the opposite opinion means that this is not a simple issue.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time.
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