The United States Mint will begin producing a new $1 gold-hued coin featuring President Donald Trump’s likeness, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on 15 July 2026, marking the country’s 250th anniversary.
The coin’s obverse carries Trump’s portrait alongside the phrase “In God We Trust,” encircled by “Liberty” and “1776–2026.” The reverse shows an eagle holding arrows in one talon and olive branches in the other – a design Bessent described as celebrating “the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all.”
The legal basis for the issue is a 2020 law permitting the Treasury to mint $1 coins during 2026 bearing designs that mark the semiquincentennial. The coin forms part of a wider push, under Trump’s second term, to place his name and likeness on federally produced currency and official documents.
The announcement has, however, drawn legal scrutiny. US code states that only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on American currency and securities – a restriction that would ordinarily preclude a sitting president’s image from appearing on any coin or note.
Bessent addressed the challenge directly, pointing to a historical parallel. Speaking to Fox News, he argued that a coin featuring Calvin Coolidge – who was alive at the time – was issued during the country’s 150th anniversary celebrations, establishing a precedent for placing a living president’s image on commemorative currency.
Whether that precedent is legally sufficient is likely to be tested. The Coolidge coin was issued in a different statutory context and critics are expected to scrutinise whether the 2020 semiquincentennial legislation provides adequate cover for a design that would otherwise fall foul of standing federal law.
For now, the Mint is pressing ahead. The coin’s release will coincide with one of the most heavily branded anniversary years in recent American history, with Trump’s administration having moved consistently to attach the president’s identity to publicly produced materials since he returned to office.
