Pennies aren't being minted, but they're not going anywhere

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury to end production of the penny — formally known as the cent — citing high costs. The U.S. Mint announced that the last of the one-cent coins were pressed in Philadelphia last month, ending a 232-year run.

For more on the history of minting in the U.S. and the penny's fate, Marketplace called up Steven Roach, an expert on coins and coinage history.

“You have to adapt to the current economic environment,” he said. “It takes about 3.4 cents to make a cent. It makes no sense, no pun intended.”

To hear more about the history of coinage and minting in the U.S., click the media player above.