In his second term, President Trump's image has cropped up in many new places: U.S.passports, national park passes, government building banners and — soon — official coins.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled designs this week for a commemorative $1 gold-colored coin, which he said the U.S.
Mint will start producing in honor of the country's 250th birthday.One side features the bald eagle from the distinctive U.S.seal.
The other shows a close-up of Trump — wearing a suit, tie and serious expression — encircled by the word "Liberty" and "1776-2026.""It's very cute, they gave me a coin," Trump told Fox News on Wednesday."That's very unusual, from what I understand."A coin with the sitting president's face has only been minted once, exactly a century ago.
And, experts say, it's likely illegal."The law prohibits, currently, on currency, the likeness of any person — not just the president — who is alive," said Jeremy Paul, a professor and former dean at Northeastern University School of Law who specializes in constitutional law.The Treasury Department argues coins do not apply, citing a law that Congress passed in 2020 authorizing the creation of a special-edition 250th coin.Paul says the coin question could potentially reach the courts.Either way, he believes, the break with tradition should be cause for concern."Regardless of careful parsing of the language of these individual statutes, this plan the president and Secretary Bessent have cooked up is inconsistent with the principles of our country, and it politicizes something that's not supposed to be political," he said.A Trump $1 coin has been in the works since at least late last year, despite backlash from Democratic lawmakers who introduced a bill to block it.
The federal Commission of Fine Arts — which is stacked with presidential appointees — approved the design in March, though it's a different version than the one Treasury officials shared this week.This coin, which the Treasury says h...