Trump Becomes First Living President on US Currency in a Century
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What happened
On Wednesday, the U.S. Mint began selling gold-colored $1 coins that feature President Donald Trump’s portrait on the obverse with the inscriptions “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776 ~ 2026,” and the presidential seal with “250” on the reverse, to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint, the coins are legal tender made mostly of copper with zinc, manganese, and nickel—not gold—and 250,000 pieces randomly included in sales carry a special “July 4th” privy mark; the Mint said they had also entered circulation. A 25-coin roll sold for $61 and a 100-coin bag for $154.50, with a household limit of two items, and both products sold out within hours of the noon ET release. The administration cited the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which authorizes the Treasury secretary to mint special coins for the nation’s Semiquincentennial; the previous living president on U.S. Mint currency was Calvin Coolidge, silhouetted behind George Washington on the 1926 Sesquicentennial half-dollar.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage reports questions about whether the coin was lawfully designed. Right-leaning coverage does not. ABC News reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not submit the design to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, whose members have questioned the production's legality. The same account includes the Treasury's reply that the committee declined review and that the secretary holds final say on designs. Right-leaning coverage, including Breitbart, omits the committee dispute and treats the release as a straightforward anniversary collectible.
ABC News calls the issue a "historic and controversial move" for a living president. The Washington Examiner instead opens on the coins selling out hours after they went on sale.
How many coins were struck, and how many actually reached ordinary pocket change?
Bottom line
A reader of Breitbart would learn the Trump dollars sold out as anniversary coins; a reader of ABC News would also learn the design never went before the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not have the Trump $1 coin reviewed by the bipartisan Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and members of that committee have questioned the legality of its production
- Of the 1926 Coolidge sesquicentennial half-dollars, 860,000 were returned and melted due to low demand
- The Thayer Amendment of 1866 bans the portrait of any living person on U.S. notes, though this traditionally does not apply to coins
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department was planning a new $250 bill bearing Trump's portrait, and exception legislation in Congress is stalled
- Trump's likeness on the coin was inspired by a White House photo taken by Daniel Torok
The Left View
Left-leaning outlets framed the release as a “historic and controversial move for a living president,” stressing that living presidents are generally barred from appearing on U.S. currency. ABC News reported that “the legality of the Trump coin’s production has come into question” after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “failed to have the coin reviewed” by the bipartisan Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, an 11-person body Congress established to advise on designs; the Treasury said it had offered “multiple reasonable opportunities to review proposed designs,” that the committee declined, and that Bessent has “sole discretion on final design selection.” The BBC noted that federal law bars printing U.S. money with a living person’s image, that the Thayer Amendment of 1866 bans such portraits on notes though it “traditionally does not apply to coins,” and that the 2020 statute “prohibits portraits of living people on the reverse” but “does not explicitly cover the obverse,” where Trump’s likeness appears.
The Right View
Right-leaning outlets presented the launch as a commemorative success, emphasizing that the coins sold out within hours and that additional inventory was being made. Breitbart said Trump’s face is “officially on U.S. currency,” quoting the Mint that the coin was struck to “honor 250 years of great American heritage” and “captures the spirit, pride, and legacy of a nation approaching its landmark anniversary,” and treating the Coolidge half-dollar as confirming the move is historic rather than forbidden. The Washington Examiner described the issue as currency “celebrating America’s 250th anniversary” and relayed the Mint’s pitch of a “once-in-a-generation anniversary design destined to become a standout addition to modern collections.”
Our Take (balanced)
The left’s strongest argument is that a sitting president on circulating coinage breaks a century-old practice and that skipping the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee’s review undercuts the claim of a routine commemorative: ABC News said legality “has come into question” after Bessent “failed to have the coin reviewed,” and the BBC underscored that federal law bars living persons on U.S. money while the 2020 statute “does not explicitly cover” the heads side used here. The right’s strongest argument is that the 2020 redesign law and the 1926 Coolidge coin supply a legal and historical basis, and that the hours-long sell-out corroborates the Mint’s description of a landmark anniversary collectible. The central unresolved tension is whether the Semiquincentennial statute’s silence on the obverse, plus one 1926 precedent, authorizes a living president’s portrait on circulating currency, or whether that reading sidesteps the longstanding bar on living figures and the advisory process Congress created.
7 sources
- Trump's face is now on money, with $1 coins going into circulation
- Trump coins already out of stock at US Mint
- Trump $1 coin makes him first living president on US currency in a century
- US Mint’s $1 Trump commemorative coins sell out within hours
- U.S. Mint’s new $1 Trump coins sell out hours after entering circulation
- President Donald Trump's Face Officially on U.S. Currency
- $1 gold Trump coins are on sale, but they'll cost you more than $1 apiece
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