US Mint to Put Trump's Face on New $1 Coin

Synopsis

According to a statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the U.S. Mint has started making $1 coins with President Donald Trump's face on them, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America's founding. On the front are the words "Liberty," "In God We Trust," and "1776–2026" with a bald eagle on the back. The shift has reignited a decades-old legal debate as federal law typically prevents living presidents from being depicted on U.S. currency, but officials say the coin meets a 2020 law.

Trump's likeness will be featured on the new $1 coin

The United States Mint has started to mint a new $1 presidential coin commemorating the 250th anniversary of the nation's independence, raising questions about what Congress allows on the country's paper currency.

The Design and the Announcement

The Mint will start issuing $1 coins featuring Trump on the obverse in the semiquincentennial celebration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. On the front is the text "Liberty", "In God We Trust", and "1776-2026", while on the reverse is a picture of the bald eagle from the President's seal.

Significantly, this is not the same coin that was approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts previously, but rather it is finished with gold colour.

This is a revision from a draft published in October that had Trump's back with a raised, clenched fist and read, "fight, fight, fight" — a reference to an attempt on his life in 2024.

The coin is meant to embody "the strength of American values," and the "promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all," Bessent said in announcing the coin.

Trump, speaking to Fox Business Network, said it was "very unusual, but I was honoured by it," observing that "it's very cute they gave me a coin".

The Legal Question

A 2016 Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco article had reported that "a living person may not appear on U.S. currency," which became law with an 1866 Act of Congress to prevent any appearance of monarchy.

The administration's rebuttal is based on the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, a bipartisan bill signed by Trump on Jan. 13, 2021, shortly before he left his one term in office, that allows the Treasury to strike $1 pieces with semiquincentennial designs exclusively in 2026.

The new design is clever because it has Trump's portrait on the front, and the eagle on the back, thereby avoiding the clause of that statute which prohibits any portrait of a person, alive or dead, from being on the reverse of such coins.

Both the U.S. Mint and the Treasury Department have done legal reviews on the coin and they confirmed that it is compliant with federal legislation, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department said.

Coins and paper currency are also different kinds of money, with coins made by the Mint and paper by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, officials have noted, and living people have been featured on commemorative coins in the past, including the recent release of the design for Nancy Reagan's coin, just before her death.

What Comes Next

It is hoped that the commemorative coin will be issued in the fall. As it is rolled out, it likely will help keep the legal battle alive beyond production, even as it is actually being produced, due to the conflicting interpretations between the ban on portraying living presidents and the administration's interpretation of the 2020 legislation.