Philly is minting the new Trump gold coins
A Treasury Department spokesperson said the coins will be available in the fall.
The U.S. Mint will soon begin producing $1 gold-hued coins, featuring the face of President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this week.
The coins will be created at the Mint’s Philadelphia production facility on Independence Mall, the nation’s first and oldest mint. A Treasury Department spokesperson said the coins will be available in the fall, and there’s “no gold in this coin but [it] has a gold-like finish.”
The designs boast a direct-gaze portrait of President Trump, with the phrase “In God We Trust” written next to his face. This side of the coin also includes the dual date, “1776 ~ 2026,” which is the same motif featured on the dimes, nickels, quarters, and half-dollars in the U.S. Mint’s Semiquincentennial program released at the start of the year.
On the reverse side, the $1 coin shows a variation of the Great Seal, an insignia of an eagle that is only used by the U.S. Department of State to impress upon official documents and treaties. The version on the coin includes the same eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons. Its shield, however, includes the number “250,” commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
In his announcement on X, Bessent said the coin “celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all.”
The coin’s production has faced obstacles, as U.S. code states that “only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency.” Critics say the move violates federal law.
In response, Bessent has cited a 2020 law that allows the Treasury to mint $1 coins with “designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.” However, the same law reaffirms that no head-and-shoulders portrait of any person, “living or dead,” may be included on the coins.
Bessent pointed to historical precedent. “During the 150th, there was a Calvin Coolidge coin, so we can put living presidents’ images on a coin,” he told Fox News in an interview.