The Common Cents Act, S. 1525, passed by unanimous consent after senators adopted substitute language meant to track the House bill. The House passed its version, H.R. 3074, by voice vote on July 14. The Senate measure was received in the House on Aug. 10 and held at the desk. Lawmakers must still reconcile the two texts before the package can go to President Donald Trump.
The bill is a response to a simple arithmetic problem: some U.S. coins now cost more to make than they are worth. The Mint struck its last circulating penny on Nov. 12, 2025, closing a 232-year run that began in 1793. Existing pennies remain legal tender. The Mint is still producing limited collector issues, including special 1776–2026 coins for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Treasury has said ending circulating production of the one-cent coin could save about $56 million a year. Each penny recently cost about 3.69 cents to produce.
Stopping the presses did not resolve how stores should handle cash when pennies are scarce. Without a federal rule, retailers have faced a patchwork of state and local practices and legal risk. The Common Cents Act would let businesses round a cash total to the nearest five cents. Card, debit and other electronic payments would still be charged to the exact cent. A $19.82 cash sale could become $19.80; a $19.83 sale could become $19.85. The intent is a single national standard as the supply of pennies continues to shrink.
The nickel is the other target. In fiscal 2025, the Mint said it cost 13.31 cents to produce and distribute one five-cent coin — more than 2½ times face value. Both the penny and the nickel have cost more than they are worth for 20 consecutive fiscal years. The traditional nickel is mostly copper, with nickel making up the rest. Copper averaged about $9,454 a metric ton in fiscal 2025; zinc averaged about $2,840. The bill would let Treasury test an alternative, including a zinc core with a nickel outer layer, if tests show the change would cut costs without seriously disrupting vending machines, parking meters, coin counters and other coin-accepting equipment. Weight could be allowed to vary within a narrow band around the current 5 grams. Officials would not be required to drop the nickel; they would be authorized to see whether a new mix can bring unit cost closer to — or below — five cents.
Supporters frame the package as modest fiscal hygiene rather than a culture-war fight over pocket change. Ending penny production alone is the largest, most certain savings. A cheaper nickel would be incremental and would depend on laboratory results and compatibility with existing machines. Business groups have urged the House to take up the Senate text quickly, arguing that stores have already absorbed losses and confusion since circulating penny output stopped last year.
The Senate bill was sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was a principal Democratic backer. Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also supported it. In the House, the companion measure was led by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., with bipartisan co-sponsorship. Unanimous Senate passage and a House voice vote are unusual in a polarized Congress, reflecting that both parties have treated the coins as a cost problem more than a partisan symbol.
What remains is procedure. Because the Senate passed a substitute, the House must act again on S. 1525 or the chambers must otherwise agree on identical language. Until that happens, circulating pennies stay gone by administrative decision, cash rounding stays uneven across jurisdictions, and the nickel stays expensive to stamp. The Common Cents Act would lock in the penny’s retirement for commerce, standardize the cash register, and give Treasury a legal path to redesign the five-cent coin if the metallurgy works. Pennies already in pockets and jars would keep their value. The question before the House is whether to finish the statutory job the Mint and Treasury have already started.
