“Oh, I’m not sure if he’s seen it, but I’m sure he’ll love it,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Friday when asked about proposed commemorative $1 coins featuring President Donald Trump’s image.
According to an X post from U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, the drafts circulating online Friday aren’t “fake news.” He added that they are “first drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday,” next year, as well as Trump.
“Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over,” said Beach, referring to the government shutdown that began Tuesday and was ongoing as of Saturday afternoon. Trump’s administration has hit hard at Democrats for not agreeing to a GOP-led spending bill and has even put up notices slamming Democrats on federal websites.
POLITICO reported that a spokesperson for the Treasury department also confirmed the news about the Trump coin Friday.
“Despite the radical left’s forced shutdown of our government, the facts are clear: Under the historic leadership of President Donald J. Trump, our nation is entering its 250th anniversary stronger, more prosperous, and better than ever before,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement cited by POLITICO. “While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles.”
Trump also celebrated the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army this year with a parade held on June 14, which was his 79th birthday.
Draft designs feature Trump’s profile on one side and another side that features Trump with a clenched fist in front of an American flag with the words “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.” When Trump survived an assassination attempt while on the campaign trail last year in Butler, Pa., Trump raised his fist after a bullet grazed his ear and shouted “FIGHT” as blood streamed down his face, as reported by the Associated Press.
Bipartisan legislation signed by Trump during his first term authorizes the Treasury Secretary to issue one-dollar coins during the 2026 calendar year, according to POLITICO. This legislation requires the design of those coins to be “emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial.”
However, both POLITICO and Axios noted that living people are not often featured on U.S. money. There are bronze medals commemorating Trump and other living presidents such as former President Barack Obama, per the U.S. Mint.
“Congress has imposed various restrictions on the ability of Treasury to feature living people and living presidents on currency,” said POLITICO. “It’s not clear whether the latest Trump coin envisioned by the Treasury Department would run afoul of those laws.”
“Federal law generally prohibits depictions of living presidents on U.S. currency, but it’s unclear if the design evades or violates those rules,” said Axios.
“No coin issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President,” reads a section of U.S. code concerning coins provided by Cornell Law School.
Per the U.S. Mint’s coin classroom, the first $1 coin was first made 1794. It was silver and had a woman who represented liberty on the obverse with an eagle on the reverse.
“For more than 170 years, different Liberty and eagle designs were used on the dollar,” said the Mint.
Then, the Mint changed the dollar to show the late former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1971. He had died two years before. With that change, the coin also became a silver “clad coin” made of copper and nickel.
In 1979 the design changed again to honor Susan B. Anthony, a women's suffrage leader who died in 1906. She was the first real women to appear on a U.S. circulating coin.
Around 20 years later, in 2000, the composition of the coins changed again to a mix of manganese, zinc, copper, and nickel metals that has a golden color. Since then, the design has changed with different coin programs. Those featured on the $1 coin since 2000 include: Native American explorer Sacagawea and her baby, Jean-Baptiste from 2000 to 2008; other prominent Native Americans from 2009 to the present day; Presidents George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison from 2007 to 2016 and different “American Innovation” inventions from 2018 to today.
The late former President George H.W. Bush was issued a presidential $1 coin in 2020. He died in 2018.
Collectible coins featuring Trump’s image are currently sold by Trump Coins, including limited edition silver medallions. These were launched before Trump started his second term and they are not U.S. currency.