Months after President Donald Trump called on his administration to cease penny production, the U.S. Mint announced this week that it had made its final order of penny blanks — and plans to stop making new 1 cent coins after those run out.
Coin production costs vary thanks to different raw metals used, complexity of their designs, labor needed and more. Many of those expenses have been on the rise — and the penny isn’t the only coin entering our wallets today that costs more to make than it’s worth (enter the nickel debate).
Here’s a rundown of U.S. Mint production costs from the government’s latest fiscal year.
Cost of the penny
Each penny costs nearly 4 cents — or $0.0369, to be exact — for the U.S. Mint to make and distribute.
In total, America’s coin manufacturer said it shipped more than 3.17 billion pennies throughout its 2024 fiscal year. That’s notably less pennies than it sent the year prior (when nearly 4.14 billion 1-cent pieces went out) — but circulating shipment for all coins was down about 44% overall. The Mint often changes its new circulation based on public demand and seasonal trends.
At the same time, the penny’s “unit cost” has gone up in recent years. The nearly 4 cent price tag is up 20.2% from the Mint’s 2023 report, when a penny cost just over 3 cents.
Cost of the nickel
Each nickel costs nearly 14 cents ($0.1378) to make and distribute. That price tag is nearly triple the five-cent coin’s buying power today.
The unit costs for both the penny and the nickel have remained above face value for 19 consecutive years, the Mint noted in its latest annual report. And, like the penny, the nickel has also seen recent price jumps — with the latest 14 cent cost up 19.4% from the 2023 fiscal year, when its cost sat under 12 cents.
U.S. Mint reported shipping 202 million nickels over its 2024 fiscal year, down from nearly 1.42 billion sent out the year prior.
Cost of the dime
Each dime costs nearly 6 cents ($0.0576) to make and distribute.
That represents more than half of the 10 cent coin’s buying power. And the cost of producing and distributing the dime increased 8.7% over the last year.
In total, the U.S. Mint reported shipping 840 million dimes for its 2024 fiscal year — down from nearly 2.67 billion the year beforehand.
Cost of the quarter
The quarter costs nearly 15 cents ($0.1468) to make and distribute.
That’s also more than half of the 25 cent coin’s buying power today. The quarter’s unit cost has increased by 26.2% since the Mint’s 2023 report, when its price tag was closer to 12 cents.
U.S. Mint said it shipped more than 1.6 billion quarters in the 2024 fiscal year, down from about 2.27 billion the year prior.
Cost of the half-dollar
The half-dollar coin costs nearly 34 cents ($0.3397) to make and distribute.
That represents nearly two-thirds of the 50 cent piece’s buying power. And its price has increased by more than 30% since the 2023 fiscal year, when the coin’s production cost was just under 26 cents.
U.S. Mint said it shipped 52 million half-dollar coins in its 2024 fiscal year, up from 18 million coins shipped in the 2023 period.
What about cash?
Coins aren’t the only form of physical money that vary in production costs. Dollar bills also see differences due to paper and ink used, labor and other expenses.
A 65-year-old man who authorities say shot a woman earlier this week in St. Croix County, Wis., and then killed himself was on probation for abusing her in 2023 in Stillwater.
Authorities say Paul P. Hellem, 65, shot and killed Martha M. Woltman, 58, of Stillwater, with a 9-mm handgun sometime on Sunday or Monday at a property in Hersey, an unincorporated community about 30 miles east of Hudson. Hellem, whose last known address was in Grand Marais, Minn., then shot himself, said St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson.
Deputies found Hellem and Woltman’s bodies during a welfare check around 9 p.m. Monday at a property in the 700 block of 292nd Avenue. Woltman’s daughter hadn’t been able to reach her mother by phone or text and was concerned, Knudson said.
The last time anyone had contact with Woltman was shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday when a friend received a text from her, Knudson said.
The property, located in Springfield Township, is owned by a relative of Woltman’s and has no permanent structures. Woltman kept goats on the property, Knudson said, and it appears Hellem was staying in a camper on site.
Woltman and Hellem were each shot once, and there were no signs of struggle, Knudson said. The manner of Woltman’s death is homicide; Hellem’s manner of death is suicide, Knudson said.
Woltman worked as a part-time nurse for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
“By all accounts, here was a person who had dedicated her life to caring for others,” Knudson said. “It sounds like she was a very kind soul, and this monster decided to take her life. His horrible actions left a lot of sadness, grief and trauma to the family. Our thoughts go out to all of those impacted by this event.”
2023 assault
In August, Hellem pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor fifth-degree assault charge stemming from a December 2023 incident involving Woltman at her house in the 600 block of Burlington Street East in Stillwater. He was originally charged with a felony charge of domestic assault by strangulation, but reached a plea deal with the prosecution, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier called 911 when Woltman, whose face and neck were red, ran out of the home, yelled to the letter carrier that he needed to call 911, and then went to a home across the street.
Woltman told investigators that the couple had argued for hours the preceding evening about Hellem’s excessive alcohol consumption, and she told him to leave the home, according to the complaint.
Hellem instead began to throw Woltman’s clothing on the front porch and then “grabbed her by her hair and dragged her into the living room where he threw her to the ground,” the complaint states. “Hellem placed both of his hands over her face and … moved one of his hands to the area of her neck.”
Hellem allegedly applied enough pressure to her neck that “it impeded her ability to breathe,” the complaint states. Woltman was eventually able to break free and ran from the house.
Hellem drove away in her vehicle and was located several hours later. He was arrested on the domestic assault charge and for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the complaint.
Woltman was granted an order for protection against Hellem, with whom she had been living since July 2022, on Dec. 11, 2023, claiming he broke her phone while she was trying to call 911; dragged her by her hair; held his hands over mouth and nose, and pinned her down, pulling hair and choking her, according to court documents.
A judge granted a domestic assault no contact order against Hellem; Washington County District Court Judge Siv Mjanger canceled the order on June 5, 2024. Court documents do not give a reason why it was vacated.
Hellem was sentenced in October to 90 days in the Washington County Jail with 80 days stayed for a year; he was given credit for 10 days already served. He was also placed on supervised probation for a year.
‘Tragic year’
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Woltman’s killing is the third domestic-related event in St. Croix County this year resulting in death, Knudson said.
“There are two people currently in the county jail on charges of killing their spouse this year,” he said. “These aren’t random acts of violence. These murders were done by people who knew them, who were trusted partners. It’s been a tragic year.”
Courts reporter Nick Ferraro contributed to this report.
CABAZON, Calif. (AP) — Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving up a ridge. A helicopter flew in to drop water, but it had to fly a long distance to refill — and a fire that might have been stopped went on to destroy homes.
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As they fought that early 2000s blaze, Whaling says, he spotted a sealed, million-gallon water tank nearby that firefighters had no way of accessing. He thought that was ridiculous.
“We don’t tell fire engines, ‘Protect the city and go find your own water.’ We put fire hydrants every 600 feet all around cities,” said Whaling, who has since retired from the county fire department. “But when it comes to the helicopters, we weren’t supporting them as robustly as we should.”
His frustration sparked an idea: the Heli-Hydrant, a relatively small, open tank that can be rapidly filled with water, enabling helicopters to fill up faster for urban fires rather than flying to sometimes distant lakes or ponds.
As wildfires become more frequent, Whaling’s invention is getting the attention of officials eager to boost preparedness. First used for the 2020 Blue Ridge Fire in Yorba Linda, 10 Heli-Hydrants have been built across Southern California and 16 more are in progress, according to Whaling.
Helicopters are essential for firefighting. They can drop 1,000 gallons of water at once — some much more. That’s far more than hoses can get on a fire all at once, and can be the best way to attack fires that are difficult for ground crews to reach.
But pilots sometimes have to fly a long way to scoop up water, and in drought-prone areas, natural sources can sometimes dry up or diminish so they’re hard to draw from. In Southern California’s Riverside County, helicopters have had to fly up to 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) to find water, eating critical time from battling fires.
An innovative solution
On a remote plot in the Southern California town of Cabazon, contractor Glenn Chavez stood on a ladder and peered into an empty Heli-Hydrant. A radio in hand, he clicked a button to activate the system and watched as water roared into the tank. In about six minutes, it filled with 8,500 gallons.
A newly installed Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, sits in Cabazon, Calif., Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Mark Whaling, a retired firefighter, stands in front of a Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Cabazon, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Glenn Chavez tests a newly installed Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Cabazon, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
A Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, fills with water during a demonstration Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jurupa Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Glenn Chavez sets the distance for which a helicopter pilot can remotely turn on a Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Cabazon, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
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A newly installed Heli-Hydrant, a small, open tank that helicopters can rely on to get water faster for urban fires, sits in Cabazon, Calif., Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
Chavez, a general contractor, was testing the Cabazon Water District’s latest investment — a second Heli-Hydrant that local officials are counting on to help protect the town. At $300,000, it cost slightly less than the average price of a single home in Cabazon.
“Living in a beautiful desert community, you’re going to have risks of fire,” said Michael Pollack, the district’s general manager. “And to have these Heli-Hydrants is a major advantage. People will have a little bit of comfort knowing that they have another tool for fighting fires in their community.”
Pilots can remotely activate the tanks from half a mile away, with the tank typically filling quickly from a city’s water system. Helicopters can fill up in less than a minute. Once it’s activated, solar panels and backup batteries ensure the system can still be used during power outages. And at night, lights from the tank and a tower nearby guide pilots toward it.
In November, fire responders in San Diego put the product to the test when the 48-acre Garden Fire in Fallbrook, a community known for its avocado groves, prompted evacuation orders and warnings. Helicopters tapped the tank nearly 40 times.
Pilot Ben Brown said its proximity to the fire saved not just time but fuel.
“They’re great for when you don’t have other water sources,” he said. “The more dip sites, especially in some of the more arid environments in the county, the better.”
But they don’t always help
Heli-Hydrants have raised some concerns about their placement in urban areas where houses, buildings and power lines can be obstacles to flight and they might have to squeeze into tighter spaces.
In those cases, firefighters may choose to fly farther to a natural source that gives the helicopter more room, said Warren Voth, a deputy pilot with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. A pilot’s goal is to always to face the wind while entering and exiting an area, for safety, and they need room to accomplish that.
In some cases, the municipal systems needed to fill Heli-Hydrants could go empty during major fires. As the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles burned, three 1-million gallon tanks that helped pressurize city hydrants in the Pacific Palisades ran dry as demand soared and burning pipes leaked water.
Other times, helicopters just can’t access them. When winds are fierce, flying is nearly impossible; hurricane-force winds that supercharged the Los Angeles infernos initially grounded firefighting aircraft. When multiple helicopters respond to large blazes, they can’t all use the Heli-Hydrant. And smoke can make it hard to see it.
Portable water tanks can accomplish some of the things that Heli-Hydrants do, but can require time, people and equipment to set up.
A Heli-Hydrant gives one community hope
Areas where wildland vegetation intersects with human development have always been vulnerable to fires, but more people are living in them today, and climate change is creating conditions that can make these regions drier and more flammable.
Jake Wiley has seen intensifying wildfires devastate his community. Two blazes — in 2007 and 2017 — collectively scorched more than 400 structures in San Diego. The last one forced Wiley, now general manager for the Rainbow Municipal Water District, to evacuate.
That fire also prompted local agencies to install a Heli-Hydrant — and when the Garden Fire erupted in November, it played a big role helping firefighters protect homes.
“It seems like when you’ve seen the worst, you haven’t yet,” Wiley said. “Anything we can do helps.”
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.
Hill-Murray School broke ground Monday on a new student union that will add more than 7,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor space to the Maplewood campus.
The addition, expected to open by December, will grow the campus dining space, create more flexible collaborative learning spaces and make more room for after-school community and alumni events.
The student union is the first capital project in the private, Catholic school’s comprehensive campaign started in 2023 under President Melissa Dan, Foundation Board Chair OJ Rinehart and Board of Trustees Chair Bill Simpson.
It features 4,225 square feet of indoor and 3,300 square feet of outdoor space and will include a new main entrance that connects the campus chapel, cafeteria and the Nicholas Center, which houses individualized counseling and tutoring services.
The school still must raise around $463,000 to meet its $5.5 million goal planned for the student union, Dan said. The strategic plan calls for the school to raise $40 million in four areas over five years, with more than $7 million planned for capital improvements.
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