THE GRIFT
Trump becomes first sitting US president to appear on a coin as Mint releases $1 piece
The US Mint has issued the 2026 US President Donald J. Trump $1 coin, marking the first time a serving American president has featured on a coin made for everyday use, with the Mint saying the pieces are already in circulation and rolls and bags going on sale from midday Eastern time.
American money now carries the current US president's face.
The US Mint confirmed on Thursday that the "golden dollar" featuring the likeness of US President Donald Trump has been released, urging people to check their pocket change while collectors can buy it in rolls and bags sold exclusively through its own channels.
The products are priced at $61 for a 25-coin roll and $154.50 for a 100-coin bag.
In practice, finding one in everyday change may take patience, since dollar coins have caught on widely with American shoppers and circulate far more sparsely than notes
Collectors also have another detail to chase as the US Mint struck 250,000 of the coins on 4 July carrying a special "July 4th" privy mark, dispersed through the rolls and bags.
Despite its colour, the coin contains no gold, being 88.5% copper with smaller quantities of zinc, manganese and nickel.
The coin was struck in Philadelphia and carries no mint mark.
Chief Engraver Joseph Menna designed the obverse from an official White House photograph, showing Trump facing almost directly forward beneath the inscriptions "LIBERTY", "IN GOD WE TRUST" and the dual date 1776 to 2026.
The reverse carries the Presidential Seal, originally sculpted by former chief engraver Frank Gasparro, with the numeral 250 added to the eagle's shield to mark the country's 250th anniversary.
There is one precedent for this initiative, though an imperfect one.
Calvin Coolidge appeared alongside George Washington on a 1926 half dollar marking 150 years of independence, making him the first living president on American coinage.
However, that was a commemorative issue rather than a coin intended for daily use. The legal basis for placing a Trump coin in circulation has been contested.
US law generally bars portraits of living people from coins, and the administration has relied on the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, signed by Trump during his first term, which permits $1 coins bearing designs emblematic of the anniversary throughout 2026.
The design process also drew criticism.
The US Commission of Fine Arts had recommended a profile portrait and a different eagle design, neither of which was adopted, while the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which normally reviews Mint designs, declined to consider it.
Deathly design gaffe spotted as Trump coin goes on sale to deluge of derision
Daniel Hampton
September 2, 2026
(Photo courtesy of US Mint website)
The U.S. Mint began selling its new $1 coin stamped with President Donald Trump's face on Wednesday, and the internet instantly ridiculed the launch.
The coin, gold-colored but struck from base metal, sells in 25-coin rolls for $61 and 100-coin bags for $154.50 as part of the Mint's series marking America's 250th birthday. The Mint told buyers to "check your pocket change," noting the dollars are "also in circulation."
But internet detectives quickly zeroed in on the fuzzy economics of the coin, as well as the ominous implication etched into it.
"Deal of the century right here folks," wrote The Bulwark's Sam Stein. "You can purchase 25, $1 Trump coins for the price of.... $61."
The Bulwark's Catherine Rampell homed in on the "1776 ~ 2026" dual date.
"I like that this design appears to show the birth date of liberty as 1776, and its death as 2026," she quipped. Progressive media group MeidasTouch quote-posted the Mint's announcement with a one-word review: "Accurate," also pointing to the curious birth and death dates of liberty.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) used the rollout to bash the administration's economic record, ticking off rising gas, grocery and utility costs.
"[T]rump and Republicans have mismanaged the American economy," he wrote, pointing to prices at the pump and the checkout line. "So what are trump and Republicans focused on? See below. November is coming." He added a jab at the portrait: "(Also, why is trump wearing a wig)?"
Conservative writer David Frum pointed out a glaring historical comparison.
"The Caesars and Napoleon won some wars before stamping their images on the coinage of their fallen republics," he wrote.
Trump is only the second U.S. president depicted on a coin during his lifetime, after Calvin Coolidge on a 1926 commemorative half dollar. Critics have decried that the design flouts federal law barring living people from U.S. currency, but a federal court declined to block it. The administration said the 2020 law authorizing the 250th-anniversary coins makes it legal.
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