After more than two centuries, the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia has put in its final two cents — sort of.

On Wednesday, at an event that included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach, the mint stamped the last two U.S. pennies that will ever be made after production costs and the rise in digital financial transactions made the one-cent coins wasteful and impractical.

'Let's rip the waste out of our great nation[']s budget, even if it's a penny at a time.'

Those lucky two pennies have been marked with what USA Today described as a "special omega mark" and will not enter into circulation.

The Philadelphia Mint first began stamping pennies in 1793, a year after Congress passed the Coinage Act. According to the New York Post, at the time, items that could be purchased for a penny included a biscuit, a candle, a piece of candy, and of course, a person's thoughts.

Matthew Staver/Bloomberg

However, these days, the one-cent coins cost nearly four cents to make, and the decision to discontinue stamping them is expected to save the Treasury Department $56 million in materials annually.

"Ongoing increases in production costs and the evolution in consumer habits and technology have made its production financially untenable," a statement from the department said, according to USA Today.

The department further noted that the penny "remains legal tender and will retain its value indefinitely." Reports estimate that at least 250 billion pennies are currently in circulation.

President Donald Trump has railed against ongoing production of the penny for months, calling for it to end. "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" he posted on Truth Social back in February.

"I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nation[']s budget, even if it's a penny at a time."

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Treasury Secretary Bessent torches MSNBC over Argentina ‘bailout’ claims

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set the record straight when MSNBC claimed that the Trump administration is providing a "bailout" to Argentina.

'In most bailouts, you don’t make money. The US government made money.'

News broke in October that the Trump administration would implement a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina, which legacy media outlets have repeatedly described as a “bailout” for the Latin American country. Democrats criticized the plan, arguing that the administration had strayed from its America First agenda and failed to prioritize American farmers, citing trade negotiations with China that led to China temporarily suspending purchases of U.S. soybeans.

During a Friday morning interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” correspondent Jonathan Lemire asked Bessent, “How does a $20 billion bailout of Argentina help Americans?”

“Do you know what a swap line is?” Bessent replied to Lemire.

“It’s a currency swap, yes,” Lemire responded.

“Yes, but what is that?” Bessent asked.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

“You’re the treasury secretary,” Lemire stated.

“Yes, but why would you call it a bailout?” Bessent questioned. “In most bailouts, you don’t make money. The U.S. government made money. We used our financial balance sheet to stabilize the government, one of our great allies in Latin America, during an election.”

He reiterated that the U.S. would make money from the arrangement, adding that he “would rather use peace through economic strength than have to be shooting at narco boats coming offshore if the [Argentinian] government collapsed.” Bessent called the situation a “generational opportunity in Latin America to create allies.”

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“By stabilizing the economy there and making a profit, then that’s a very good deal for the American people,” Bessent continued. “There’s a lot we could have been doing for the American farmers, but Democrats closed the government.”

He clarified that the arrangement with Argentina was a $20 billion credit line and that the U.S. has already made a profit on the swap line, which involved exchanging U.S. dollars for pesos.

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Trump scores win for American farmers as China commits to ‘massive’ soybean purchases

President Donald Trump announced that the United States has reached a deal with China to restart the purchase of soybeans after months of boycotts that hurt American farmers.

‘I was extremely honored by the fact that President Xi authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of Soybeans, Sorghum, and other Farm products.’

China, the world’s largest soybean buyer, attempted to use the boycott as a powerful bargaining chip in trade negotiations. It resumed purchases ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, buying two cargoes of soybeans, Bloomberg reported.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called the recent purchase “a great start.”

“Today’s purchase by China of multiple ships of American soybeans signals [President Trump’s] strong dealmaking and a positive step forward for our farmers,” Rollins wrote. “This purchase, coming directly ahead of the Trump-Xi talks, shows that America means business and that we will restore balance, give U.S. producers the opportunities they’ve earned, and send a message that when America leads in agriculture, the world listens.”

Trump told reporters on Thursday that China has plans to buy “tremendous amounts of soybeans and other farm products immediately.”

While the president did not specify the scale or timing of those purchases, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that China had agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans by January, according to Fox Business. China is expected to purchase at least 25 million metric tons each year over the next three years, he added.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Bessent estimated that Trump’s recent trip to Asia could yield $2 trillion in U.S. investments, Fox Business reported.

“Our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent told the news outlet.

Trump called his meeting with Xi “truly great,” writing in a post on social media, “There is enormous respect between our two Countries, and that will only be enhanced with what just took place.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“We agreed on many things, with others, even of high importance, being very close to resolved,” Trump continued. “I was extremely honored by the fact that President Xi authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of Soybeans, Sorghum, and other Farm products.”

Trump noted that farmers will “be very happy” about this trade development and encouraged them to “immediately” purchase “more land and larger tractors” to keep up with the expected demand.

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Zohran Mamdani Forced to Explain Why He Lied as Media Turns on Him

Liberal Media, Activists Silent as Bari Weiss Makes LGBTQ History at CBS News

Bari Weiss made history this week as the first openly LGBTQ journalist to lead a major network newsroom. Paramount announced Monday that Weiss, the former New York Times opinion writer who founded the Free Press, would serve as editor in chief of CBS News. Alas, the landmark achievement was largely ignored by media outlets and LGBTQ activist groups that purport to celebrate diversity and inclusion.

The post Liberal Media, Activists Silent as Bari Weiss Makes LGBTQ History at CBS News appeared first on .

Scott Bessent has joined the effort to uncover funders of Antifa violence, Karoline Leavitt says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt gave an encouraging update on the Trump administration’s efforts to uncover those who may be funding Antifa attacks in the U.S.

President Donald Trump previously ordered his officials to use the power of the government to root out who might be funding Antifa.

'We will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations in this organized anarchy against our country and our government.'

Leavitt said Monday during the White House media briefing that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had joined the effort and explained how he would be able to help the cause.

"The financial backing of these groups, particularly Antifa, is certainly something the administration is looking into aggressively," she said.

"The federal government has never really been mobilized or tasked with doing that. So we're kind of kick-starting that into gear," she added. "The FBI is working on it alongside the White House's Homeland Security Task Force. We have our intelligence community looking into this as well. And even the secretary of treasury is involved with these matters since they are financial in nature."

On Friday Leavitt said that the administration was looking into the possibility of cutting off all federal funding to Portland after violence continued to increase at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

"We will continue to get to the bottom of who is funding these organizations in this organized anarchy against our country and our government," she continued in her statement Monday. "It's a question the American people have been begging the answer for, for many years, and we're committed to uncovering it."

— (@)

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas issued a statement of support for the development.

"Good," wrote Roy on social media. "Congress can, and should, back up the Trump administration's efforts by forming its own select committee to investigate who is funding these groups. Enough is enough."

Liberal critics claim that Trump is misusing the powers of the government to punish and persecute his political opponents.

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Congress takes aim at billionaires bankrolling left-wing 'hate campaigns' following Kirk assassination

In light of Charlie Kirk's horrific assassination, congressional Republicans are looking to uproot "militant organizations" that have sown discord in our country.

Neville Roy Singham, a wealthy businessman and political activist, has bankrolled left-wing NGOs like Code Pink that some say are responsible for indoctrinating young Americans and heightening political polarization. Notably, Code Pink was founded by Singham's wife, Jodie Evans.

'We will no longer allow billionaires to bankroll anti-American political movements.'

"Neville Singham has spent millions funding militant organizations that have orchestrated violent riots and launched targeted hate campaigns against Americans with different beliefs," Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said in a post on X.

Given Singham's role in propping up many of these organizations, Luna and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) are pressuring Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to freeze his assets.

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

"We will no longer allow billionaires to bankroll anti-American political movements on behalf of foreign governments," Luna said.

Singham is most recently being investigated for his ties to CCP-influence operations that fall under the purview of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Because he appears to fund many of these influence operations, Luna and Comer have called on Bessent to enforce penalties, including freezing Singham's assets, to curb any "malign activities" executed by these organizations.

"It is imperative that we expeditiously halt the continued flow of funds and material support for malign activities conducted at the behest of the CCP," the letter reads.

Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for V-Day

The House Oversight Committee also investigated Singham in June for allegedly funding "various extremist entities," such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation, on behalf of the CCP.

The committee called on Singham to overturn all relevant financial and communications documents pertaining to these far-left organizations. Unsurprisingly, Singham has not provided these documents to the committee.

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Down to the last penny: US Mint closes the books on producing one-cent coins

Treasury Secretary Bessent torches MSNBC over Argentina ‘bailout’ claims

Trump scores win for American farmers as China commits to ‘massive’ soybean purchases

Zohran Mamdani Forced to Explain Why He Lied as Media Turns on Him

Liberal Media, Activists Silent as Bari Weiss Makes LGBTQ History at CBS News

Scott Bessent has joined the effort to uncover funders of Antifa violence, Karoline Leavitt says

Congress takes aim at billionaires bankrolling left-wing 'hate campaigns' following Kirk assassination

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We’ll keep you informed with top stories for conservatives who want to become informed decision makers.