Federal law prohibits putting any living people on U.S. coins.
“As America commemorates 250 years of independence, the US Mint will begin striking this new $1 gold coin to honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Wednesday morning. “Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all.”
This move is technically illegal, as 31 U.S. Code § 5112 proclaims that no coin shall “bear the image of a living former or current President,” until at least two years after their death. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 also holds that living people cannot appear on the back of a coin. The Trump administration is trying to skirt those laws by arguing that the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act allows the president to create memorial coins to celebrate America’s 250th.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told Axios the coin is already being made and will be released this fall. This move is technically illegal, as 31 U.S. Code § 5112 proclaims that no coin shall “bear the image of a living former or current President,” until at least two years after their death. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 also holds that living people cannot appear on the back of a coin. The Trump administration is trying to skirt those laws by arguing that the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act allows the president to create memorial coins to celebrate America’s 250th.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told Axios the coin is already being made and will be released this fall.
Laws are only worth something if they’re enforced. Trump’s been Teflon his entire adult life, whether he was doing coke and real estate frauds in the 80s or embezzlement and racketeering in the 90s or child sex trafficking in the 00s or President Crimes in the 10s and 20s.
Biden’s AG looked into Trump for four years and came back with “There’s literally nothing we could possibly prosecute him for so we won’t even try.” And this was a guy who got nailed on 34 counts of whatever it is Alvin Bragg indicted him over (paying off a prostitute with campaign donations, I think?) in a trial that ended with no actual punishment being assigned.
Like, whatchagonna do? Laws are clearly for little people. Trump (and Musk and Eric Prince and Ron DeSantis and Bill Gates and Robert Richards IV and Prince Andrew and - really - anyone with the correct volume of money and power) can do whatever they damned please. Nobody is going to stop them.
I used to be hopeful that mechanisms for structural reform would prevail, but the wealthy seem hellbent on welding shut all the safety valves and unplugging the control panels to get a surge of power without anyone being able to stop them. Or even know how long before everything goes critical.
But my centrist, apolitical friends don’t seem worried. I’m sure it’s fine.