A temporarily new-issued dime that commemorates America’s 250th anniversary is drawing criticism for its lack of olive branches — a symbol of peace.
Instead, the back of the dime showcases the Great Seal of the United States, featuring a bald eagle, but it’s clutching only arrows, a symbol of war, and lacks the traditional olive branch in its other talon.
The design for the reimagined commemorative dime took shape months before President Donald Trump was reelected and was intended as a nod to the Revolutionary War that created the nation, not modern times. But the dime started going into circulation the same week that Trump seized Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro in early January.
As the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran heats up, critics are pointing to the redesigned dime as the newest symbol of a more aggressive kind of nationalism championed by the Trump administration.
Fortunethis week said the omission of the olive branch was “hard to read as accidental” and questioned what the illustration meant for the country. On social media, users questionedwhether the new design was a parody, and Reddit users questioned the move over dozens of threads with tens of thousands of upvotes. One critic suggested on TikTok that the redesign had Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “written all over it.” (The Washington Post found no evidence Hegseth was involved in the redesign.)
The design of the back of the new dime, unveiled in December, depicts an eagle with an empty right talon clutching arrows in its left claw — inscribed with the phrase “LIBERTY OVER TYRANNY.” On its front, the dime illustrates a “determined Liberty as the winds of revolution waft through her hair,” according to the U.S. Mint material explaining the change.
The new dime is part of a broader set of redesigned coins circulating this year to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial. The final design of the coin was one of several illustrations reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee in 2024. That October, right before Trump would be elected for a second presidential term, the impartial federal advisory committee recommended the design to the treasury secretary.
U.S. Mint Deputy Director Kristie McNally has said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got the final nod on design approval for the coins. A request for comment from the Treasury Department was not returned.
The medallic artist behind it, Eric David Custer, told the news publication Spotlight PA in February that his design was inspired by the Great Seal of the United States. In 1782, Charles Thomson, who presented the final design of the great seal to Congress, explained that “the Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress.”
Custer, who has worked for the U.S. Mint since 2008, told Spotlight PA that his new design represents the colonists before and during the American Revolution. He said he omitted the olive branch to show that the colonies had not yet reached peace, but a talon remained empty to show that they were waiting for it.
McNally said in a statement that the designs, which also include new illustrations on the quarter, nickel and half dollar, “depict the story of America’s journey toward a ‘more perfect union,’ and celebrate America’s defining ideals of liberty.”
Frank L. Holt, an emeritus professor of history at the University of Houston, said in an email that the new dime’s ambiguous messaging “condemns the whole design.”
“The design of the new dime long predates Operation Epic Fury and only accentuates how easily a poor design could be misinterpreted or misappropriated,” said Holt, who has studied the history of coins, referring to the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran. “Money talks, but it should speak plainly and with clear purpose.”
The Trump administration has garnered criticism for signaling a more aggressive stance on war, with Trump espousing what he has called “America First” foreign policy and renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War.
The Trump administration has taken other steps to influence coin designs. In December, Fox News reported that Bessent axedBiden-era-designed quarters intended to celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial after discovering the illustrations depicted what could be interpreted as themes of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Last fall, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach confirmed that the agency had drafted $1 coins with Trump’s face on them to commemorate the semiquincentennial.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), who introduced a bill last year to prevent any living or sitting president from being featured on any U.S. currency, said in a statement that the changes to currency design are part of a broader symbolic effort by Trump.
“President Trump is removing national symbols from currency, including the olive branch as a symbol of peace, while simultaneously attempting to add his face to the upcoming one-dollar coin in celebration of the Semiquincentennial,” Merkley wrote. “Trump’s symbolism and intentions are clear … erase our nation’s history, remove symbols of peace, and align this important date with how authoritarians celebrate themselves around the world.”
The Trump administration has also drawn scrutiny for the large banners hung over federal buildings in Washington commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. Critics have argued that the administration is deploying ideological symbolism with the large banners featuring Trump, past presidents, historical figures and conservative activists. Specifically, a banner of Trump hung above the Justice Department building in Washington last month has drawn the ire of those who suggest it exemplifies the president’s encroachment on the agency.
The U.S. Mint first made dimes in 1796. Beginning in 1946, soon after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Mint released a dime to honor his birthday. The front of the Roosevelt dime shows the former president in profile. The U.S. Mint describes the rear of the Roosevelt coin as showing a torch, olive branch and oak branch to “represent liberty, peace, and strength.”
The U.S. Mint says that in 2027, the dime will return immediately to its previous design featuring Roosevelt.
The post New dime to celebrate America’s birthday takes on new meaning under Trump appeared first on Washington Post.
