WASHINGTON — The U.S. Mint is making a $1 gold-colored coin with President Donald Trump’s image, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a social media post Wednesday.

The coin commemorates the country’s 250th anniversary and honors “the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” he wrote on X.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Mint will begin making a $1 gold coin with President Donald Trump’s image, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in a social media post on Wednesday

  • The coin is intended to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary “to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” he wrote on X

  • The Treasury said the Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump $1 coin is in production and minted in Philadelphia; it will be available in the fall

  • The coin does not include gold and is made of a “non-precious metal composition” that has a gold-like finish

Bessent’s post included images showing the design of the coin, which features Trump’s face on one side with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “1776-2026. The presidential seal with the number 250 and the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “ONE DOLLAR” are on the other side.

Bessent told Fox News earlier this week that, as treasury secretary, he has two mandates: “The currency has to say ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ somewhere on it, and there cannot be an image of a living person.”

But, he added, “During the 150th (anniversary), there was a Calvin Coolidge coin, so we can put living people’s images on a coin.”

The treasury secretary also gave Fox News a look at the new $100 bill with Trump’s signature — also to honor the country’s semiquincentennial. 

A Treasury Department spokesperson told Spectrum News the $1 semiquincentennial coin was authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which authorizes the treasury secretary to issue $1 coins with “designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial” for a one-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

That law also states that “No head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of any coin” issued for the semiquincentennial. The design unveiled Wednesday, however, shows Trump’s image on the face of the coin, not the reverse side.

However, U.S. Code says, “Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.” And the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 prohibits $1 coins bearing the image of “a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President.”

The Treasury Department said the semiquincentennial Trump coin is in production and being minted in Philadelphia. It will be available in the fall.

The coin does not include gold and is made of a “non-precious metal composition” that has a gold-like finish, the spokesperson said.

Democrats have criticized the Trump coin for contradicting the nation’s character. In April, a group of Senate Democrats sent a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government urging them to use language in a government funding package that would prevent a living or sitting president from appearing on U.S. coins, whether they are in circulation or collectible, and his signature from appearing on currency.

Both are now happening. Bessent told Fox News that Trump’s signature will be “on all the currency for the 250th.”

Coolidge’s bust appeared alongside George Washington on a 150th anniversary half-dollar coin. It was issued to help raise funds for a world’s fair in Philadelphia in 1926, the Treasury Department said.

The use of Coolidge’s likeness was the first time a portrait of a president appeared on a coin that was minted during his lifetime.

Legislation Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., introduced in February 2025 proposed amending the Federal Reserve Act to allow Trump’s portrait to appear on a $250 bill to commemorate the country’s semiquincentennial. Despite the measure being stalled in Congress, Bessent said in May the Treasury Department was making preparations for the Trump $250 bill. 

Also to mark America’s 250th anniversary, the State Department is issuing limited-edition passports that include Trump’s image inside.