{"id":204767,"date":"2026-03-20T12:04:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/design-approved-for-us-mints-24k-gold-trump-coin-despite-objections-usa-today\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T12:04:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T12:04:21","slug":"design-approved-for-us-mints-24k-gold-trump-coin-despite-objections-usa-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/design-approved-for-us-mints-24k-gold-trump-coin-despite-objections-usa-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Design approved for US Mint's 24k gold Trump coin, despite objections – USA Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0United States\u00a0Department of the Treasury<\/a> has taken a big step forward in a plan to etch President Donald Trump\u2019s portrait<\/a> on\u00a0a 24 karat gold commemorative coin<\/a>.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an\u00a0advisory board\u00a0whose members were\u00a0handpicked by Trump,\u00a0approved\u00a0the general design on March 19 for\u00a0a 24k gold commemorative coin<\/a>\u00a0emblazoned with the president\u2019s\u00a0image.
Separately, the Treasury has said it plans to issue a $1 Trump coin<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Fine Arts commission\u00a0approved\u00a0in January,\u00a0despite protest from Democrats and coin enthusiasts who say the move\u00a0shatters\u00a0longstanding norms.
The gold commemorative coin features a picture\u00a0taken by the\u00a0chief White House photographer\u00a0of Trump\u00a0leaning over the Resolute Desk, which is on\u00a0display in the Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery. The U.S. Mint did not respond to a request for comment on how much the coins will cost, though others on the agency\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0sell for thousands of dollars.
“It’s a very strong, very tough image of him,” said Chamberlain Harris, a member of the committee and deputy director of Oval Office operations at the White House. “It’s fitting to have a current sitting president who’s presiding over the 250th year on a commemorative coin for said year.”
Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the Office of Design Management, said the Secretary of the Treasury presented a series of designs to Trump before submitting the proposal to the commission. Trump, she said, approved this image. The coin will have a denomination, though it has not yet been chosen, Sullivan said.
Commissioners recommended small changes, including adding wood grain to the Resolute Desk and suggested the coin measure about 3 inches in diameter, the largest coin the agency can create.
“Don’t sell out. The larger the better,” said James C. McCrery, vice chair of the commission and the initial architect for Trump\u2019s proposed White House ballroom project<\/a>.
The coin\u00a0is expected to\u00a0join a slate of special edition currencies<\/a> and medals the\u00a0Treasury is releasing for the nation’s semiquincentennial\u00a0year<\/a>, including the separate $1 Trump coin<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Fine Arts commission\u00a0approved\u00a0in January.
However, neither the $1 coin\u00a0or\u00a0the gold coin have received approval from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Council, a\u00a0nonpartisan group created by Congress to\u00a0advise\u00a0the Treasury on coin design. That committee\u00a0declined to review both\u00a0coins, alleging it runs counter to the country’s founding principles.
Donald Scarinci, chair of the CCAC, described the two proposals “as\u00a0abhorrent\u00a0to the Declaration of Independence” and said it was a “huge\u00a0irony”\u00a0to celebrate\u00a0the country\u2019s\u00a0break from the British monarchy with\u00a0coins of the president.
“If you issue a coin with a portrait of a sitting president, it will send a message that the sitting president is a king,” Scarinci said.
George Washington\u00a0refused to have his image printed on currency during his lifetime, believing it was “monarchical<\/a>.” Only one American president \u2013 Calvin\u00a0Coolidge \u2013 has ever had\u00a0their\u00a0likeness printed on currency\u00a0while they were living. He was featured alongside\u00a0Washington on a\u00a0controversial\u00a01926 half dollar for the Sesquicentennial. The wasn\u2019t\u00a0popular, and most pieces were melted by the Mint.
If created, the Trump coins will join a growing list of buildings and items\u00a0fashioned with the president\u2019s name<\/a> and image, including national park passes, banners outside\u00a0government\u00a0buildings\u00a0and the recently renamed\u00a0Trump-Kennedy Center for the Arts<\/a>.
Unlike the $1 coin, which will circulate as currency, the gold coin\u00a0is\u00a0designed purely as a collectible. A 1935 law prohibits gold currency from being used for commerce in the U.S.
Because it\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0circulate, the gold coin is also facing less legal pushback than the $1 coin.
Congress must authorize the creation\u00a0of\u00a0new\u00a0currency, but since the commemorative coins are gold, the agency doesn’t need approval,\u00a0said\u00a0Scarinci,\u00a0who has served on the CCAC since 2005.
The Treasury has argued its authority for the $1 coin comes from a 2020 law allowing the pressing of celebratory 250th\u00a0pieces.
But\u00a0Democratic lawmakers, led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto,\u00a0D-Nevada,\u00a0earlier this year\u00a0requested the agency cease creation of the\u00a0$1 Trump coin. They\u00a0allege\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0illegal.
At issue, they say, is\u00a0past\u00a0legislation, including\u00a0an\u00a01886\u00a0act mandating “only the portrait of a deceased individual” appear\u00a0on currency and securities.
The Mint did not\u00a0immediately\u00a0respond to requests for comment about the status of the $1 dollar coin.\u00a0Masto\u2019s office said\u00a0the Treasury appears\u00a0intent\u00a0on\u00a0continuing the project.
“The White House\u2019s decision to trudge forward with a gold coin featuring President Trump<\/a>\u00a0is embarrassing and goes against\u00a0our country\u2019s foundational values,”\u00a0the senator\u00a0said in a statement.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0United States\u00a0Department of the Treasury has taken a big step forward in a plan to etch President Donald Trump\u2019s portrait on\u00a0a 24 karat gold commemorative coin.The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an\u00a0advisory board\u00a0whose members were\u00a0handpicked by Trump,\u00a0approved\u00a0the general design on March 19 for\u00a0a 24k gold commemorative coin\u00a0emblazoned with the president\u2019s\u00a0image.Separately, the Treasury has said it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":204768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-204767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}