The White House Gift Shop is selling commemorative coronavirus coins, with a portion of proceeds going to hospitals fighting COVID-19.
The limited edition coin, which costs a hefty $125 but is currently on sale for $100, is currently available for preorder. It features the names of President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The coin bears a graphic of the COVID-19 virus on one side and the presidential podium on the other. “We fought the unseen enemy,” it reads. “Everyday heroes suited up.”
According to the White House Gift Shop website, 20 percent of coin sales will be “donated each day to U.S. hospitals including Johns Hopkins for its COVID-19 Coordination and Trackins [sic].”
The coronavirus coin is the 11th in a “Historic Moments” coin collection. Others include one with Trump’s face reading, “Only the best;” one with Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual misconduct; and another commemorating Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to an investigation by Talking Points Memo, the White House Gift Shop is controversial—while the website bears the usa.gov label, it’s only tangentially associated with the U.S. government. The shop acts more as a private charity, and the trademark is help by Anthony Giannini. While Giannini describes himself and the shop as non-partisan, he is an admitted Trump supporter.