Congress Advances 5-Cent Nickel Redesign as Mint Spends 13.31 Cents to Make Each Coin
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · Aug 18
Congress Advances 5-Cent Nickel Redesign as Mint Spends 13.31 Cents to Make Each Coin
3 articles · Updated · Newsweek · Aug 18
Summary
Separate House and Senate versions of the Common Cents Act have passed, moving Congress toward letting the U.S. Mint remake the nickel with a zinc core and nickel outer layer.
The push follows steep losses at the Mint: producing and distributing each nickel cost 13.31 cents in fiscal 2025, while 202 million nickels generated a $17.7 million Treasury loss in 2024.
Lawmakers are pursuing a redesign rather than elimination after penny production ended in November 2025, because dropping the nickel would make the dime the smallest cash denomination and expand rounding.
A Richmond Fed analysis estimated penny-only rounding costs consumers about $6 million a year; eliminating the nickel too could lift that to nearly $56 million.
Cash still accounted for 14% of consumer payments in 2025, with heavier reliance among older, rural, lower-income and unbanked Americans, making the nickel debate part of a broader fight over cash access.