Local coin collector David Holcomb said they’d been expecting the move for some time. He says 2024 pennies could become an item to look for.

Ending production of the penny makes sense, a consensus of area coin collectors and business owners told TribLive after a directive to end production of the penny was ordered this week by President Donald Trump.

The president could promptly end the production of new pennies, but phasing out the coin would take time and mean changes at retail stores, economists said.

Donald Trump has ordered the US Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing that each one-cent coin costs 3.69 cents to produce — leading to an $85.3 million loss in 2024 alone. The move follows a push by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and mirrors similar decisions in Canada and Europe.

The U.S. Mint said in fiscal 2024, it took about 3.69 cents to produce and distribute one penny, a 20.2% increase from 2023.

President Trump said Sunday he had asked the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, part of an effort to cut down on what he called wasteful government spending. His remarks revived a long-running debate over whether to get rid of the smallest denomination of U.