Trump becomes first living president on US coin in a century
The US Mint has launched a commemorative $1 coin featuring Donald Trump's portrait, marking the first time a sitting or living president has appeared on American currency in 100 years.
Photo: @SecScottBessent/X
Donald Trump's portrait has appeared on a US coin, marking the first time a living president has featured on American currency in a century.
The US Mint launched the commemorative $1 coin on Wednesday, featuring Trump's portrait alongside the words "In God We Trust," to mark America's 250th anniversary.
According to the US Mint, the special-edition coin was designed to capture "the spirit, pride, and legacy of a nation approaching its landmark anniversary."
Priced at $61 for a roll of 25 and $154.50 for a bag of 100, the coins reportedly showed as "not currently in stock" on the US Mint's website within hours of going on sale. They are also being sold through vending machines at the US Mint store in Washington DC.
Despite their golden appearance, the coins contain no actual gold. The US Mint said they are composed of 88.5 percent copper, with the remainder made up of zinc, manganese and nickel.
The coin's release follows an announcement in May by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said his department was planning to issue a new $250 bill featuring a portrait of Trump. Federal law currently bars printing US currency with the image of a living person, though Trump allies in Congress have introduced legislation seeking an exception, a proposal that remains stalled.
At the time, Bessent pointed to a precedent involving another living president appearing on US currency: a half-dollar issued in 1926 to mark America's 150th anniversary featured then-President Calvin Coolidge.
The Trump administration has also cited the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, passed during Trump's first term. While that law prohibits portraits of living people on the reverse side of coins, it does not explicitly address the obverse, or "heads," side, where Trump's likeness appears on the new $1 coin.
Separately, the Thayer Amendment of 1866 bans portraits of any living person on US banknotes, though this restriction has traditionally not applied to coins.