U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach on Friday revealed the proposed designs for a $1 coin celebrating President Trump and America’s semiquincentennial next year.
“No fake news here. These first drafts honoring America’s 250th birthday and @POTUS are real,” the former Georgia state senator appointed by Trump wrote on social media.
The suggested heads design shows a profile image of Trump, with the words “Liberty” and “In God We Trust,” as is standard on U.S. coins. The tails design, however, depicts Trump standing in front of an American flag with his fist raised to the sky, below the words “Fight, Fight, Fight.”
Beach said he’d provide more information on the proposed currency once the “obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over.” The shutdown began on Wednesday, with hopes for a quick end fading on Friday as Democrat and Republican lawmakers again failed to agree on a plan to fund federal services.
Congress passed the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 toward the end of Trump’s first term, which allows the feds to mint $1 coins “with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial” for issuance throughout 2026.
It’s unclear if Beach’s proposal meets that standard.
He could certainly face challenges in getting the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to make further currency honoring his boss. U.S. code prohibits standard coins from bearing the image of a president who hasn’t been dead for at least two years.
A Treasury spokesperson told Axios that while “a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial,” the designs put forth Friday reflect “the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that she doesn’t know if Trump has seen the early drafts of the coin bearing his likeness, but suspects he’d approve.
