"It was a question begging to be asked after President Trump announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, to stop minting pennies: What would become of the penny loafer?
"Though it is unclear whether Mr. Trump’s presidential powers permit him to stop the production of pennies — according to the United States Mint, that authority rests with Congress — his order raised the stakes of efforts to abolish the 1-cent coin, which detractors have said is worth less than the cost of producing it.
"Over the decades, the penny has lent its name to various elements of American culture: penny candy, for instance, or penny arcades with their penny slot machines. But few, if any, have been more enduring than the penny loafer, which became inextricably linked to American style after young people started stuffing pennies in the notched strap atop it.
Note:
(a) online title: Without Pennies, What Becomes of Penny Loafers?
(b) slip-on shoe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip-on_shoe
(also "known as a loafer")
(c) photo caption: Teenage girls wearing penny loafers [see the pennies?] in a 1947 photo from the Life magazine archives. Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Shutterstock
