“I think we can retool the nickel and change the composition of the alloys so that a nickel is worth a nickel,” Bessent said during an appearance on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom.
The total cost of making one nickel, worth 5 cents, is estimated to be around 14 cents, according to a report.
As currently struck, the coin’s composition is approximately 75% copper and 25% nickel, the report noted.
Bessent’s suggestion to change nickel composition arrives following the announcement of eliminating penny production.
The move to cease penny production will require businesses to begin rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, and a final order of penny blanks was made for the Treasury this month.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies,” President Donald Trump said in a February post to Truth Social following a directive to stop the coin’s wasteful production.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
TREASURY DEPARTMENT PLEDGES TO END ALL PENNY PRODUCTION BY EARLY 2026
The push to eliminate penny production has received support from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
“The penny is outdated and inefficient and no longer serves the needs of our economy,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a statement. “By suspending its production, we can reduce government spending, streamline transactions, and move toward a more practical financial system. It’s time to invest in a future that works for the 21st-century economy, and that starts with suspending production of the penny.”
