U.S. Mint prepares to issue ‘Trump gold coin’ as opposition denounces move as fit for a dictator

According to The Financial News, the United States of America (U.S.) plans to issue a commemorative gold coin bearing the portrait of President Donald John Trump as the country marks the 250th anniversary of its founding this year. It is extremely rare in the U.S. to circulate a coin featuring the face of a sitting president, and the move is expected to spark controversy.
Local outlets including The Associated Press (AP) reported that the United States Commission of Fine Arts, an independent agency under the Federal Government of the United States, held a meeting on the 19th (local time) and unanimously approved the design of a 24-karat gold commemorative coin featuring President Trump’s portrait. For the United States Mint to issue a new coin, it must first obtain design approval from the Commission of Fine Arts, which oversees design consistency in the capital.
The Trump gold coin is part of a series of commemorative coins the United States Mint is preparing for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. One side will show Trump leaning over a desk and looking straight ahead, while the other side will depict a bald eagle, the national bird of the U.S., with its wings spread.
Brandon Beach, Treasurer of the United States, said in a statement, "As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, I am very pleased that we will be producing a coin that symbolizes the indomitable spirit of our nation and our democracy." He added, "There is no figure more emblematic to feature on the obverse of such a coin than the sitting president, Donald Trump."
The gold coin can be produced with a diameter of up to 7.6 centimeters. The White House is reportedly hoping the coin will be made as large as possible. The United States Mint will decide the final specifications, and United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is expected to order its minting.
At the Commission of Fine Arts meeting, Megan Sullivan, acting head of design management at the United States Mint, was asked whether Trump had reviewed the coin’s design. She replied, "The Secretary of the Treasury presented this design to the president along with other options, and my understanding is that the president chose it."
The design approved this time is the third version to emerge this year. In January, the Commission of Fine Arts recommended two coin designs featuring Trump’s face to the United States Mint. One was a regular one-dollar coin intended for general circulation, and the other was a one-ounce (31.1 grams) pure gold collector’s coin with a face value of 250 dollars.
The Thayer amendment, enacted in 1866 in the U.S., stipulates that "only portraits of deceased individuals may appear on U.S. currency and securities." However, the Trump administration is pushing ahead with the Trump coin by citing two other statutes that grant the Secretary of the Treasury authority to approve the minting and issuance of coins. If the commemorative coin approved on the 19th is classified not as a regular circulating coin but as a collectible commemorative item, it could potentially circumvent the Thayer amendment. The sale price of the newly unveiled gold coin has not been disclosed, but local media noted that similar commemorative gold coins have sold for as much as 1,000 dollars in the past.
The opposition is objecting to the issuance of the Trump gold coin. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, criticized the move, saying, "The people who put their own faces on coins are monarchs or dictators, not leaders of a democracy."
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter