The U.S. Mint will begin striking one-dollar coins featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump on its face in commemoration of the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday morning.
The coin, which on the reverse side depicts the presidential seal with “250” inscribed on the shield, “celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all,” Bessent wrote in a social media post.
Living people, including presidents, rarely grace American currency thanks to a compilation of laws, though the new coinage appears to skirt around those restrictions.
Trump signed bipartisan legislation in 2020 authorizing the Treasury Secretary to issue dollar coins during the 2026 calendar year carrying designs that are “emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial.”
That law states that no person, living or dead, could be included on the reverse side of the coin — but some have argued it appears to allow for Trump’s portrait (or other living people) to remain on the coin face.
However, federal law is generally understood to prohibit any living person from appearing on most currency. When Congress created the Presidential $1 Coin Program in 2007, it also dictated that no living presidents, or those who had died in the past two years, would be featured on those coins. And an 1866 law fully prohibits living people from appearing on paper currency, though it doesn’t specifically mention coinage.
The final design appears to be a notable scaling back from the ambitious draft design obtained by POLITICO in October. That design featured Trump on both sides of the coin, with the reverse side depicting him holding his fist in the air with the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” inscribed above him.
Bessent’s Wednesday announcement did not specify how many coins would be minted or whether the dollar coin is meant for wide circulation or as a commemorative collectible. The Treasury Department, U.S. Mint and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.
The newly announced coin is not the first attempt at placing his likeness on currency. Some in Congress and the Treasury floated the idea of creating a $250 bill with him on it earlier this year, but Republicans on the Hill largely didn’t appear to reciprocate the excitement.
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