Although most people have never had one in their pocket change, the half-cent used to be a common coin in the US. It was actually one of the first coins ever minted and continued being released ...

It wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. eliminated its least valuable coin. The half-cent coin was discontinued by Congress in 1857. Trump’s new administration has been sharply focused on ...

Congress discontinued the half-cent coin (and reduced the size of the cent) by passing the Coinage Act of 1857. Those in favor of parting with pennies point out that other countries have ...

But let’s not forget that we have done this before: back in 1857, the US retired its half-cent coin and people simply got used to it. As examples such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand indicate, ...

There’s still some precedent for change though, and Congress has acted previously to discontinue minting new coins. The legislative branch authorized discontinuing new half-cent coins in 1857.