The president could promptly end the production of new pennies, but phasing out the coin would take time and mean changes at retail stores, economists said.

But when President Donald Trump issued an order to stop minting the penny entirely, I couldn't help but wonder what role that humble copper-colored coin still plays in the US economy and what might actually change.

For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! Trump wrote on Truth Social.