President Obama set another horrifying legal precedent today, by messing around with that most important of statutory laws: The 2005 Presidential $1 Coin Act, which "requires the U.S. Mint issue new presidential $1 Coins with the likeness of every deceased president." The White House announced today that the U.S. Mint would no longer make these coins for general use, since it's a silly vanity project that no one cares about.

Except maybe these dead people? Ever think of that, White House? Bloomberg explains:

That's bad news for fans of Chester Alan Arthur, Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison, who are to be featured on the coins made in 2012. Since 2007, the mint has worked its way from George Washington to James Garfield in a set of coins honoring U.S. presidents.

"The call for Chester A. Arthur coins is not big," Vice President Joe Biden said at a Cabinet meeting today where the cutback was announced.

The administration expects that this will save $50 million in production costs per year. But is such a sum worth denying Chester A. Arthur his place in the sun?

[Image via AP/United States Mint]