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Treasury Releases Draft Trump $1 Coin for America’s 250th, Prompting Legal Questions

The preliminary design must clear legal review under statutes barring living figures on U.S. currency.

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The Treasury Department is seen near sunset in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. The Treasury Department projects that the federal government on Thursday will reach its legal borrowing capacity, an artificially imposed cap that lawmakers have increased roughly 80 times since the 1960s. Markets so far remain calm, as the government can temporarily rely on accounting tweaks to stay open. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
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U.S. President Donald Trump departs the White House to attend his meme coin gala at the Trump National Golf Club, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Overview

  • U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach posted first-draft images showing Trump’s profile on one side and a fist-raised image with the words “Fight, Fight, Fight” on the other.
  • Treasury said no final design has been selected and indicated further details will follow after the federal government shutdown is resolved.
  • Congress’ 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act authorizes semiquincentennial $1 coins in 2026 and calls for consultation with the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the Commission of Fine Arts.
  • Federal law and long-standing practice generally bar depictions of living presidents on currency and restrict reverse-side portraits, creating uncertainty about the draft’s compliance.
  • If produced, the coin would be legal tender but likely geared to collectors rather than general circulation, with limited historical precedent for featuring a living president (notably Calvin Coolidge in 1926).