Already, on orders from Congress, the penny is no longer being made in America, and while existing pennies are valid currency, there will be no more new ones.
This followed reports confirming that it cost nearly four cents to make each one. And the expansion of digital payment procedures and the resulting lower need for coins to hand back and forth in transactions.
Now the nickel could be on a chopping block, or at least ordered to be changed, for the same reason.
A report at Fox News confirms it costs about 13 cents to make each nickel, worth five cents.
Fox confirmed, “It’s common sense that common cents are getting less use in Americans’ daily lives. Congress has already taken action to eliminate the lowest rung — the penny — and now another coin collecting dust in people’s wallets could be on the chopping block next. The House and Senate both passed bills earlier this year aimed at eliminating the penny once and for all. The bipartisan Common Cents Act was unanimously approved in each chamber, but has yet to get President Donald Trump’s signature to become law. It followed the Treasury Department announcing last December that the U.S. Mint would no longer produce pennies, which at the time cost more than three times their value to make.”
The US loses $.08 for every nickel produced – Production & material costs make the coin a loss leader for the US Mint. Congress has already taken action to eliminate the lowest rung — the penny — and now another coin collecting dust in people’s wallets could be on the chopping block next. Now, lawmakers want the administration to act on another portion of their bill, which would direct the Treasury to study the potential of making the nickel with cheaper materials than are currently used. https://t.co/hSzXlgrEDU
— David L Wagner (@DavidLWagner4) October 7, 2026
The penny is on its way out. Could the nickel be next? Congress has passed the bipartisan Common Cents Act, formally moving to end penny production after the U.S. Mint stopped making the coin last year. The legislation is now awaiting President Trump’s signature. But lawmakers are already looking at another costly coin: the nickel. The bill gives Treasury the ability to test a cheaper composition for the 5-cent coin as officials look for more savings. There’s a reason the nickel is getting attention. Lawmakers noted it costs nearly 13 cents to produce one. The penny may only be the beginning. See what Congress wants to change next: https://t.co/FBUhOqF11V
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) October 7, 2026
SHOULD WE KEEP THE NICKEL? Just one year after congress passed legislation to eliminate the penny, they are now going after the nickel. Apparently, it costs thirteen cents to produce one nickel, and they think that’s not worth it. Your Thoughts https://t.co/voL6C9pzom
— Lovable Liberal and his Old English sheepdog (@DougWahl1) October 7, 2026
Now it’s the nickel, but plans are not necessarily to discontinue it, but to change it up to make it less costly to produce.
“If it costs 13 cents to make a five-cent coin, Washington should fix the problem instead of wasting more taxpayer money,” House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital. “My bill gives Treasury a path to make nickels at a lower cost without disrupting how Americans use them. It is a simple reform that saves money and brings a little more common sense to government.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is working on the same plan in the Senate, and said, “More and more Americans are paying with credit cards, debit cards and stablecoins for everyday purchases that once would have been made with cash or coins.”
The coins now are a mixture of 25% nickel and 75% copper.
The proposed changes would allow a “lower-cost nickel composition” provided testing shows the change would not disrupt coin-operated machines.
Already, Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary, has opined the U.S. could change the coin and produce it less expensively.
