The U.S. Mint put Donald Trump’s face on money for the first time in American history, selling gold-colored $1 coins starting at noon as part of the country’s 250th birthday celebration.
Story Snapshot
- The U.S. Mint began selling a $1 coin featuring President Trump’s face, making him the first sitting president depicted on U.S. currency in a century.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the design in July 2026 and said the coin honors the nation’s 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial.
- The coin’s design was inspired by an official portrait and drawn by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna, then approved by a federal arts commission made up entirely of Trump appointees.
- A special law passed in 2020 opened a legal path for the coin, even though a separate 1866 law bars living people from appearing on paper money.
Coin Goes On Sale After Months of Buildup
The U.S. Mint released 250,000 of the $1 coins, each showing a simple portrait of President Trump on the front, along with the words “Liberty,” “In God We Trust” and “1776–2026.” The gold-colored coins are not meant for everyday spending but could technically be used as legal tender. They sold out fast once the sale window opened.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent first announced the coin on July 15, 2026, saying the Mint would strike the pieces to mark 250 years of American independence. The Associated Press reported production had already started by the time Bessent made his announcement, calling it part of the Treasury Department’s plan for the anniversary. The coins are scheduled to keep shipping into the fall.
A Century-Old Rule Meets a New Law
An 1866 law, often called the Thayer Amendment, bars any living person’s image from appearing on U.S. paper currency. But that law covers cash printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, not coins struck by the Mint. Congress passed a separate law in 2020, before Trump’s second term began, creating a special coin program for the 250th anniversary with its own set of rules.
That 2020 law bans living portraits on the back, or reverse, of certain coins, but that restriction does not apply to the front, or obverse, where Trump’s face now sits. This legal gap is why the coin could move forward despite the older ban on living presidents in other currency laws. A federal panel made up entirely of Trump-appointed members, the Commission of Fine Arts, approved the final design.
Living Faces on Coins Aren’t Entirely New
Commemorative coins have broken this norm before, just rarely. Alabama Governor Thomas Kilby appeared on a 1921 half dollar, and President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a coin marking the nation’s 150th birthday in 1926. Bessent pointed to that Coolidge coin directly when explaining why the Trump design was legal, telling reporters the earlier precedent showed living people could appear on coins even though currency law says otherwise.
Six people in total have appeared on official U.S. commemorative coins while still alive, according to numismatic records, making Trump’s coin rare but not unprecedented. Reporting has noted the coin marks the first time a sitting president has appeared on U.S. currency in about 100 years.
The Trump administration’s new $1 coin is officially here as part of America’s 250th-anniversary celebrations. The Mint says the coin is authorized under the 2020 legislation governing the Semiquincentennial program, with Trump’s portrait on the front and the Presidential Seal on… pic.twitter.com/qHghgJl3JT
— OGM News (@OGM_News) September 3, 2026
Whether Americans see the coin as a fitting tribute to the country’s founding or an uncomfortable first, it reflects a broader pattern: major anniversaries have long tested how far the government will stretch old rules about who gets honored on money, and this is the latest example of that tension playing out in real time.
Sources:
youtube.com, thehill.com, npr.org, apnews.com, investor.wedbush.com, govinfo.gov, theguardian.com, washingtonpost.com, msn.com, nbcnews.com, usmint.gov
