US to release special Trump silver dollar to celebrate America’s 250th
WASHINGTON — US Treasurer Brandon Beach confirmed the authenticity of a planned silver dollar with President Trump on both sides to mark the country’s 250th anniversary next year.
“No fake news here. These first drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday and @POTUS are real,” Beach tweeted Friday afternoon.
“Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over.”
One side of the mock-up shows Trump’s face above the words “In God We Trust” and the dates 1776-2026.
The reverse shows Trump’s iconic fist-pump after surviving an assassination attempt last year, and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.”
“I’m not sure if he’s seen it, but I’m sure he will love it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked about the coin design.
Federal law appears to bar living presidents from appearing on currency.
For the dormant presidential gold-dollar coin series, Congress barred the production of any coins featuring “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 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which authorized the US Mint’s 2026 Semiquincentennial Program for special coins, commands 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 specified coins.”
The Treasury Department emphasized that the design for the anniversary coin has not been finalized.
“Despite the radical left’s forced shutdown of our government, the facts are clear: Under the historic leadership of President Donald J. Trump, our nation is entering its 250th anniversary stronger, more prosperous, and better than ever before,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said in a statement.
“While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles,” the spokesperson added. “We look forward to sharing more soon.”
In 1926, Calvin Coolidge became the only sitting president ever depicted on a US coin, when his likeness was used on a half-dollar coin celebrating the 150th anniversary of American independence.
The US government has not produced a large 1.5-inch dollar coin for general circulation since the discontinuation of the Eisenhower Dollar in 1978 after a production run that began after the Republican president and World War II general’s death in 1969.
More than 230 million bicentennial silver dollars were issued featuring Ike on the front and a composite of the Liberty Bell and the moon on the back.
Mass-produced silver-colored coins have been made with exteriors of copper-nickel alloys since the 1960s. More limited-issue runs have been made with silver.
The US Mint also mass-produced special bicentennial Kennedy half dollars, with Independence Hall on the reverse, and Washington quarters with the widely collected “drummer boy” design.
It’s unclear what designs are under consideration for possible half-dollar and quarter redesigns next year. It’s also unclear if Trump’s coin will be gold or silver in color — or if it will be of the larger size or the more recent smaller scale for dollars.
The proposed Trump coin was revealed a week after Reps. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) and August Pfluger (R-Texas) introduced legislation to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a silver dollar coin.
