The death of the penny, ordered by President Donald Trump last year, has raised concerns about the potential for the nickel's demise. The nickel, which has been in circulation since 1866, costs significantly more to produce than it's actually worth in US currency. David Smith, a Pepperdine University economist, said that each nickel made cost the United States Mint 13.78 cents, a loss of nearly 9 cents a coin, equating to an $85 million loss. However, Robert Whaples, an economist at Wake Forest University, said he doesn't see any groundswell for eliminating the nickel due to its larger size and copper content.