Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled new images Wednesday of a $1 gold coin featuring President Donald Trump, giving America’s 250th birthday celebration a bold patriotic twist that immediately sent liberals into meltdown mode.
The proposed Semiquincentennial coin shows Trump’s face on one side, along with the words “In God we trust” and “Liberty 1776-2026.”
Bessent said in a post on X that the U.S. Mint will begin striking the coin to “honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism.”
He said the design is meant to commemorate 250 years of American independence and celebrate “American values.”
The design appears to match one of the proposed Semiquincentennial designs released by the U.S. Mint earlier this year.
It is separate from the 24-karat commemorative gold coin approved in March by the Federal Commission of Fine Arts, which showed Trump leaning on the Resolute Desk.
The announcement sparked predictable outrage from Democrats and Trump critics, who pointed to federal law generally barring living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
But the Trump administration argues this coin is allowed under a 2020 law authorizing special designs for the country’s 250th anniversary.
For supporters, the coin is a simple celebration of the president leading the country during one of its biggest milestone years.
For critics, it is another excuse to accuse Trump of putting his image on American institutions.
Democratic lawmakers have already tried to head off the move.
In December, a group including Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada introduced the “Change Corruption Act,” which would explicitly ban the likeness of a living or sitting president from appearing on any U.S. currency.
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The fight centers partly on the “Thayer Amendment,” an 1886 law that prevents images of living people from appearing on U.S. bonds, securities, notes or currency.
Congress also passed the “Presidential $1 Coin Act” in 2005, which created circulating $1 coins featuring U.S. presidents but limited that series to presidents who had died.
The Trump team is leaning on the Semiquincentennial exception, arguing the anniversary coin is not part of the standard presidential coin series.
The new $1 coin is not the only Trump currency idea that has rattled Washington.
In March, a Trump-picked panel serving on the Federal Commission of Fine Arts approved a special commemorative U.S. gold coin featuring the president.
That 24-karat gold coin was designed to show Trump leaning on the Resolute Desk, based on a photo displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Then in May, Bessent showed off a proposed $250 bill featuring Trump’s face.
The Treasury secretary said the design was a preparatory step in case Congress passes legislation allowing the president’s face to appear on the note.
Bessent revealed the mock-up after The Washington Post reported that the Treasury Department had pressed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare designs for the bill.
The $1 coin, however, is tied directly to America’s 250th anniversary, giving the administration a stronger legal argument and a much cleaner patriotic pitch.
Donald Trump’s critics can call it vanity all they want.
But for millions of Americans, a coin marked with “In God we trust,” “Liberty” and the dates 1776-2026 sounds a lot more fitting for the nation’s 250th birthday than another sterile Washington committee design.
America is turning 250.
The Trump Treasury wants the coin to look like it actually means something.
