Plan for US Coin Featuring Donald Trump Sparks Legal, Political Debate

U.S. President Donald Trump. Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0

The US Treasury unveiled a draught plan to diagnostic President Donald Trump successful US currency, with a $1 commemorative coin bearing his look to people the nation’s 250th day successful 2026, touching disconnected ineligible questions and partisan statement implicit whether a surviving president should look connected US money.

Images shared connected X by US Treasurer Brandon Beach and subsequently released by the Treasury amusement a illustration of Trump connected the obverse with the connection “Liberty” supra and the dates “1776-2026” below. The reverse depicts Trump with a raised, clenched fist successful beforehand of a U.S. emblem and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT”, a notation to words helium mouthed aft surviving an assassination effort past year,  astir the borderline of the design.

“No fake quality here. These archetypal drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday and @POTUS are real,” Beach wrote successful the post. A Treasury spokesperson, describing the images arsenic a preliminary mock-up, said the plan is not last and that “this archetypal draught reflects good the enduring tone of our state and democracy, adjacent successful the look of immense obstacles.”

No fake quality here. These archetypal drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday and @POTUS are real.

Looking guardant to sharing much soon, erstwhile the obstructionist shutdown of the United States authorities is over. https://t.co/c6HChM6ijG

— U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach (@TreasurerBeach) October 3, 2025

Uncertainty Surrounds Legality of Trump Currency Proposal

The connection rapidly prompted scrutiny implicit the ineligible limits connected depicting surviving radical connected U.S. currency. Federal instrumentality governing commemorative coins authorizes the Treasury caput to mint $1 coins “with designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial,” but that statute besides states that “no caput and shoulders representation oregon bust of immoderate person, surviving oregon dead, and nary representation of a surviving idiosyncratic whitethorn beryllium included successful the plan connected the reverse of immoderate coin” issued nether the law.

An 1866 instrumentality that agelong has barred surviving persons from appearing connected insubstantial currency applies to notes produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, not commemorative coins struck by the US Mint. Legal experts person said the draught coin’s wider illustration of Trump connected the reverse whitethorn beryllium intended to debar the literal “head and shoulders” representation prohibition, but questions stay whether the draught would comply with the anniversary-coin restrictions.

Trump would ‘Love the draft’

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she did not cognize whether Trump had seen the draught but added, “I’m definite he’ll emotion it.” Treasurer Beach said the bureau would supply much accusation aft the national authorities emerges from a partial shutdown.

The announcement drew swift governmental pushback from Democrats. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said helium planned to present authorities helium called the TRUMP Act, the Restrict Ugly Money Portraits Act, that would barroom immoderate president from issuing currency with his oregon her ain likeness and necessitate US currency to diagnostic lone deceased individuals.

Commemorative coins are ineligible tender but are not usually minted for wide circulation, and the Mint has issued commemoratives successful caller years honoring deceased Americans. The Treasury has produced commemorative quarters and different collectible coins successful the past, including the 1976 bicentennial designs chosen aft a nationalist competition; that $1 coin featured the Liberty Bell and the moon. Treasury officials said the plan process for semiquincentennial coins is ongoing and that a last $1 coin design has not been selected.