U.S. Mint to Produce $1 Gold-Style Coin Glorifying Trump Amidst 250th Anniversary
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The Treasury has announced plans to mint a $1 gold-finished coin featuring Donald Trump, a move that critics see as an attempt to further normalize the controversial ex-president during the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.
The U.S. Mint has begun producing a $1 coin with a gold-like finish that will bear the portrait of Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on X on Wednesday. This coin, part of a series of commemorative items for the United States’ 250th anniversary, is expected to be released later this year, according to a Treasury spokesperson.
Despite being made of non-precious metals and merely coated to resemble gold, the decision to feature Trump—a figure whose presidency was marked by divisiveness and attacks on democratic norms—raises concerns about the message this sends during a milestone anniversary. Bessent referenced a 2020 law allowing new commemorative coin designs for the semiquincentennial, but existing statutes still require that only deceased individuals appear on U.S. currency, unless Congress intervenes.
In May, the Treasury reviewed a proposal for a $250 bill featuring Trump, a move that would also require legislative approval and has been criticized as an attempt to further elevate a polarizing figure. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a bipartisan panel, must review and approve any commemorative coin design before it is issued.
"Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities. The name of the individual shall be inscribed below the portrait," the U.S. Code states.
The Treasury spokesperson cited the law authorizing $1 coins with semiquincentennial-related designs for the year beginning Jan. 1, 2026, but the decision to honor Trump in this way remains contentious.