Penny production ends, but your old pennies stay legal—no transition plan included.

What it does

This bill allows the U.S. Mint to change the composition of the 5-cent coin (nickel) to reduce production costs by using zinc and nickel instead of the current copper-nickel alloy, and mandates the end of production of new one-cent coins (pennies), though existing pennies remain legal tender and the Mint may still produce them as collectible items.

Why we flagged it

The bill is a straightforward technical amendment to U.S. coinage standards, permitting cost-reduction measures for the Mint's production operations and eliminating future penny minting while preserving existing pennies' legal status.

What the text implies

• Elimination of penny production may accelerate de facto cash-rounding practices in retail, potentially affecting low-income consumers who rely on cash transactions and small-denomination pricing.
• The bill does not mandate a public education campaign or transition timeline, leaving merchants and consumers to adapt without coordinated guidance on rounding conventions or vending-machine updates.
• Zinc-nickel composition change for nickels may affect metal-recycling streams and scrap-metal markets, though the impact is likely modest given nickel's smaller circulation volume.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens retain the ability to use existing pennies indefinitely (legal tender preserved), and the Mint's cost savings may eventually reduce taxpayer burden; however, eliminating new penny production may create practical friction in commerce (rounding, vending machines, cash handling) and the bill does not address transition mechanisms or consumer impact mitigation.

Who stands to gain

• U.S. Mint (reduced production costs for 5-cent and 1-cent coins)
• Numismatic collectors (continued production of collectible one-cent coins for sale)

Named in the bill

U.S. Mint, Secretary of the Treasury, 31 U.S.C. § 5112, 5-cent coin (nickel), 1-cent coin (penny)

Where it stands

• Jul 16, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jul 16, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $80,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 6 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Frank Lucas, the sponsor, reported $714,880 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Automatic Merchandising Association — $80,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.