The future of 1p and 2p coins is safe despite Donald Trump announcing plans to halt production of one cent pieces in the US.
The President announced last week the US Mint would stop manufacturing new coins, claiming it was “so wasteful”.
The UK Government has since confirmed there are “no plans” to change Treasury policy on coinage. No new 1p or 2p coins were minted last year as their use has been in steep decline.
The Treasury said last year there were already enough coins in circulation for the UK’s needs, and no orders have been sent by the Treasury to the Royal Mint.
Asked whether the UK would make a similar move to Mr Trump, the Prime Minister’s spokesman told the Telegraph: “There’s no plan to change our policy on that.”
Trump said on social media: “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents.”
He added: “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel, which costs almost 14 cents to mint.
Canada started phasing out its penny a dozen years ago and urged store owners to round prices to the nearest nickel for cash transactions. Electronic purchases were still billed to the nearest cent. The move came after New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, and others dropped their lowest-denomination coins.
Trump’s order, which he announced in a social media post as he was departing New Orleans after watching the first half of the Super Bowl, was the latest in his administration’s rapid-fire efforts to cut government costs.
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