A new bipartisan bill will be introduced to let the U.S. Mint alter the metal content of coins to save money

A new bipartisan bill will be introduced to let the U.S. Mint alter the metal content of coins to save money.

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, of Iowa, and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, of New Hampshire, seek to cut the soaring cost of minting America’s quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies.

A new report from the U.S. Mint revealed that in 2022, costs for raw metals drove the price of minting a single nickel past 10 cents, or more than double the value of the coin itself.

“It’s absolute non-cents that American taxpayers spend ten cents to make just one nickel,” Ernst said in an email to CNBC. “Only Washington could lose money making money.”

“This bill will save millions of dollars per year by modifying the composition of nickels, dimes, and quarters with less expensive metals,” Hassan wrote in an email to CNBC. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our bipartisan bill.”

“This commonsense, bipartisan effort will modify the composition of certain coins to reduce costs while allowing for a seamless transition into circulation,” Ernst said. “A penny saved is a penny not borrowed.”