By Susan Abbott Gidel
News that the U.S. penny would no longer be minted comes right on schedule with what to expect near the eighth Saturn return of the U.S. 10-yr. Treasury Note of 1791.
The U.S. 10-yr. T-note is the longest consistently issued note the government uses to raise money. It was created on January 1, 1791 following formation of the U.S. Treasury in 1789. Its natal horoscope chart has Saturn at 29 Pisces 55.
That Saturn placement is receiving a visit from transiting Saturn (a “Saturn return” in astrology lingo) for the eighth time in its history, from May 2025 to February 2026 (black highlights in Chart 1). Those returns will be exact on May 24, 2025; September 2, 2025; and February 13, 2026. A Saturn return, which occurs about every 29 years, is a time to make new long-term structural changes.
Chart 1
As I published in my 2025 Financial Astrology Annual Outlook in January, U.S. currency has made a significant shift at each of these previous Saturn returns. I speculated on three possibilities: (1) Abolish the penny? (2) Create a Central Bank Digital Currency? And (3) Bitcoin as legal tender?
Here’s some highlights of U.S. currency changes at previous Saturn returns for the U.S. 10-yr. T-note:
| Saturn Return Dates | US Currency Events |
| June 1819—February 1820 | Panic of 1819; Bank of the United States declared unconstitutional |
| April 3, 1849 | Gold Coinage Act to mint $1 and $20 gold coins |
| May 1878—February 1879 | “Greenback” value equal to gold for first time since Civil War |
| March 18, 1908 | New coin designs feature people, e.g. Lincoln on penny instead of wheat (1907-1909) |
| April 1937—January 1938 | Jefferson nickel replaces Buffalo nickel |
| March 3, 1967 | Coinage Act of 1965 to remove silver from coins takes effect in 1967 |
| April 6, 1996 | U.S. Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 |
| May 2025—February 2026 | TBD. Abolish penny? Create a Central Bank Digital Currency? Bitcoin as legal tender? |
Neptune Conjunct Saturn
The U.S. penny announcement of February 9, 2025 certainly came within range of the !0-yr. T-note’s Saturn return. However, an even closer astrological connection was with transiting Neptune, which is making only its second connection to the instrument’s natal Saturn (see red highlights in Chart 1).
Neptune takes about 165 years to go around the horoscope chart and visit every sign. The first (and most recent) time transiting Neptune was conjunct the 10-yr. T-note’s natal Saturn was 1861-1862. Neptune conjunct Saturn is a connection of dissolving current concepts of structure and reality.
Neptune made its first of three exact conjunctions on April 11, 1861, just 10 days before the Civil War began at Fort Sumter.
Near the middle conjunction of October 4, 1861, the United States established its first income tax with the Revenue Act of 1861. It was a flat tax of 3% on income greater than $800 (equivalent to $28,691 in 2025); only 3% of the country’s population fit that income category.
In 1862, the third and final Neptune/Saturn conjunction was exact on February 11. In that year, the Revenue Act of 1862 imposed a progressive income tax of 3% on income over $600 ($18,748 in 2025) and 5% on income greater than $10,000 ($312,480 in 2025). Also new to the federal scene were the formation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (now the Internal Revenue Service) and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in order to print paper currency for the first time.
Neptune is in the middle of making five exact conjunctions with the 10-yr. T-note natal horoscope that extend from June 26, 2024 to January 23, 2026. In 2024, the exact dates were June 26 and July 7. In 2025, they are March 28 and October 25. In 2026, it is January 23.
With this Neptune influence, it seems wise to add changes in income taxes and paper currency to the list of potential shifts that could occur in U.S. finances.
In particular, watch for the most intense news along both the currency and income tax lines in early 2026 as both planets are in a tight connection with 29 Pisces. Things could heat up starting in mid-December 2025 as Neptune turns direct in motion at 29 Pisces. The temperature could rise a bit on January 14, 2026 when Saturn gets within 2 degrees at 27 Pisces.
Both planets are tightest in Pisces on January 26, 2026, the day before Neptune enters Aries. The two planets are conjunct at 00 Aries on February 20, 2026, signifying important reality shifts for the entire world.