Lately, many have been talking about the penny and if the U.S. should finally stop making it. The penny has been around forever, but now many people say it doesn’t really do anything anymore. Plus, it actually costs more money to make a penny than the penny is even worth.

A report from CBS News explains the whole issue: “It now costs around 2.7 cents to make a single penny, raising new questions about whether the coin should continue being made.” This shows that the government loses money every time a penny is made. That kind of sounds crazy when you think about it.

When talking to students at school about the penny disappearing eventually, there were very mixed opinions. Some students don’t mind the change, and others can’t imagine life without the penny.

“I don’t really use pennies anyway, so I don’t care if they get rid of it. They just sit in my backpack or at the bottom of my drawers,” said junior Isabella Diaz .

Many students agree with Isabella saying pennies just pile up and never get used.

“I mean, it’s kind of sad because we grew up with pennies, but also everything is rounding up now. So maybe it makes sense to stop making them,” said junior Martina Hoyos. She said she understands both sides of the argument.

Right now, a lot of people use cards, Apple Pay, or just don’t carry cash at all. Because of that, some experts think the penny is basically useless. They say the U.S. could save millions of dollars if the Mint stopped making it. But some people think prices will be rounded up and things might slowly get more expensive.

“I don’t think anyone is really gonna miss them,” said junior Maximo Biasutto added, which honestly feels like how most students see it.

Nobody knows the final decision yet, but the debate is getting bigger. If the penny actually disappears, it’ll be a big change in American money. For now, everyone’s just waiting to see what happens.