The Trump administration on Monday defended its plan to mint a $1 coin bearing the image of President Trump despite the fact that an 1866 law dictates that only the deceased can appear on U.S. currency.
Initial designs for the coins released by the U.S. treasurer last week stirred controversy and accusations that the Trump administration was violating the law so that Mr. Trump could honor himself by putting his face on a coin. The 1866 law enshrined a tradition that individuals could only appear on U.S. currency posthumously to avoid the appearance that America was a monarchy.
But in a post on Monday, the Treasury Department said that featuring Mr. Trump on a coin in celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday was authorized under the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020.
Quoting from the legislation, it noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was exercising authorities to issue coinage “with designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial” and that the proposed images reflect Mr. Trump and his vision for America.
“On this momentous anniversary, there is no profile more emblematic for the front of this coin than that of our serving President, Donald J. Trump,” the Treasury Department said in a post on X.
According to draft images of the coin, the “heads” side would feature Mr. Trump’s profile and the “tails” side would depict an image of him standing before the American flag and pumping his fist under the words “Fight, Fight, Fight.” The coin would be legal tender and go into circulation in 2026.
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The post Treasury Defends Lawfulness of Minting a $1 Trump Coin appeared first on New York Times.
