COLUMBIA — Local business owners and customers are weighing in on the U.S. Treasury Department's final order of penny blanks, following President Donald Trump's February suggestion to stop producing pennies altogether.

The reason behind Trump's decision to cut the coin's production is largely due to how much the coin costs to produce. According to the U.S. Mint, it costs 3.69 cents to produce a 1 cent penny.

Dave Sorrick, a coin specialist based in Springfield and owner of In God We Trust LLC, said the 116-year-old Lincoln cent has gone through many changes throughout its long history.

Sorrick said the decision to stop production was "momentous" and has led everyone to ask: What does this mean to the circulating cent in our economy?

Everett Dufur, a local coin collector, said the end o

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