The United States Mint will soon begin selling a $1 gold coin emblazoned with President Donald Trump’s face, making him the first living person featured on American currency in more than a century.
The coins go on sale Sept. 2 at 12 p.m. ET. Collectors can purchase 100 coins for $154.50 or a roll of 25 for $61.00. Dispersed among the bags and rolls are 250,000 coins pressed on the Fourth of July, with a “July 4” privy mark, the Treasury said in a news release.
Featuring Trump’s official White House portrait, the coins were designed to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary.
They are the first released in a slate of Trump-adorned currency announced by the Treasury. The agency has also proposed a $250 bill and 24K gold commemorative coin with
the president’s image.
Some Democrats and coin collectors have questioned the legality of the coins, pointing to a federal law allowing “only the portrait of a deceased individual” to appear on U.S. currency and securities.
The Treasury, however, has pointed to a 2020 law allowing it to mint a $1 coin honoring the nation’s semiquincentennial for one year.
George Washington refused to have his image printed on currency during his lifetime, believing it was "monarchical."
President Calvin Coolidge was the last and only other sitting executive to appear on currency. In 1926, for the country’s 150th anniversary, the Treasury issued a half-dollar featuring Coolidge and George Washington.
Neither the $1 gold coin nor the 24K gold commemorative coin received approval from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a nonpartisan group created by Congress to advise the treasury on coin designs. That committee declined to review both coins, arguing that putting a sitting president on currency was against the country’s founding principles.
While described as “gold coins,” the $1 tokens don’t contain any precious metals. Rather, the Treasury said they have a “gold-like finish.”
Karissa Waddick covers America's 250th anniversary, looking at how historical events have shaped our nation. She can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: $1 gold Trump coins go on sale Sept. 2
