The new $1 gold coins emblazoned with President Donald Trump's face are no longer available, at least temporarily.
The coins are listed as "currently unavailable" on the U.S. Mint's website Friday morning, Sept. 4, after going on sale at noon ET on Sept. 2. Multiple news outlets reported the coins were no longer available a few hours after they went on sale.
The coins make Trump the first living person featured on American currency in more than a century and can be purchased in the following quantities for the following prices, according to the U.S. Mint:
- 25-coin roll: $61
- 100-coin bag: $154.50
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.
The Treasury did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for more information on when the coins would be available for purchase again. According to reporting from CNN, the Mint website featured a notice on the afternoon of Sept. 2 for the 25-coin roll stating the coins were "available to be ordered now, but it is not currently in stock." The notice also said "additional inventory is being made."
Coins are first in slate of Trump-adorned currency
The coins 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.
Karissa Waddick covers America's 250th anniversary, looking at how historical events have shaped our nation. She can be reached at kwaddick@usatoday.com.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump $1 coin sales spark rush at US Mint
