The US Mint launched Trump coins on Wednesday, putting a $1 piece with Donald Trump's portrait on sale to mark America's 250th anniversary. The coin is being sold as a collectable, not released for ordinary circulation.
It carries the words Liberty and In God We Trust, and the Mint said the issue was “created to celebrate this historic national milestone” and is a “once-in-a-generation anniversary design destined to become a standout addition to modern collections.” Buyers at the US Mint store in Washington DC could purchase it in vending machines.
US Mint pricing and supply
The Mint priced the coins at $61 for a roll of 25 and $154.50 for a bag of 100. Within hours of going on sale, they were not in stock on the Mint's website, and the US Mint said more coins were being made.
The coin has a golden colour but contains no actual gold. The US Mint said it is 88.5% copper, with the rest made up of zinc, nickel and a manganese brass outer layer.
Donald Trump and US currency
The legal path for the coin rests on a narrow distinction in the law. Living presidents are barred from appearing on US currency, but the anniversary legislation was used to make the design possible, and the statute does not explicitly cover the obverse, where Trump's likeness appears.
The coin can be used as legal tender to pay debt and taxes, but federal law lets businesses decide whether to accept it. That leaves collectors with the clearest path to buy it, while everyday use depends on whether a business chooses to take it.
Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020
The Trump administration cited the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020. The same legal framework was also used in March, when the Treasury said US paper money would soon bear Trump's signature, and in May, when Scott Bessent said his department was planning a new $250 bill bearing a portrait of President Trump.
A previous anniversary coin came in 1926, when a half-dollar issued for America's 150th anniversary featured Calvin Coolidge. The new Trump $1 coin follows that rare example, but its practical reach is narrower: it is for collectors first, and only secondarily legal tender if a business chooses to accept it.
