The U.S. Mint stopped making pennies in 2025, but legislation passed by the Senate and headed to President Donald Trumps desk will formally end their production after 234 years.The bill, passed by voice vote late Monday, directs the government to not make pennies, giving a legal stamp of approval to the Trump administrations decision to stop producing the currency last year. The penny, among the first coins to be made after the Mint was established in 1792, has become increasingly expensive to produce and is used by fewer and fewer consumers as digital transactions have become more standard.RELATED STORY | End of the penny? How your cash transactions may changeTrump is expected to sign the bill. He wrote in a social media post last year that the U.S. has produced the 1-cent coin for far too long."Ending the penny will save millions of dollarsThe Mint says that production of a penny now costs almost 4 cents and that ceasing to make them would generate immediate savings of $56 million annually.The bipartisan bill, called The Common Cents Act, was sponsored by Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif.When it comes to taking on waste and making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely, its common sense that we should stop making a coin that costs nearly four times more than its worth to produce, Garcia said.Consumers can still use their penniesPennies are still in circulation, and the formal end to their production doesnt mean consumers or stores cant use them. The Mint said it made 3.2 billion pennies in 2024.The bill outlines new procedures for stores as pennies are phased out, and it allows them to round transactions up or down to the nearest 5 cents.RELATED STORY | McDonald's rounds cash transactions to nearest nickel as US faces penny shortageRetailers had pushed for the bill to eliminate the threat of lawsuits as penny circulation has dwindled.Businesses across the country have faced cascading impacts from the lack of pennies in circulation, operating under constant uncertainty about how to handle cash transactions when exact change is unavailable, a coalition of retailer groups wrote to House leaders in a letter earlier this year.The bill would also allow the government to use an inner layer of zinc when producing the nickel, which could increase in circulation as the penny is phased out. The 5-cent coin is currently made from both nickel and copper, which is more expensive than zinc. ...read more read less