The US spends 2.41 cents to produce one penny, worth 1 cent. This means that the US loses 1.41 cents every time it produces a penny, which is a very large amount when one considers that the US produces around 5 billion pennies a year. Just eliminating the difference in production costs and value would save the US over $50 million a year, not to mention that if pennies were completely eliminated the entire cost of production could be saved, $100 million.
Many countries have already done this, including Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, and most recently Canada, with no negative economic effects.
Figures, usmint.gov
Helpful videos explaining the topic,
General information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U
How Canada ended the penny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU4E6SSy5Yg