Designs for a proposed 2026 Semiquincentennial $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump, publicly available since at least December, have moved through the federal review process, spotlighting both the artwork and the broader debate surrounding living figures on U.S. coinage.
The $1 coin would appear golden in color, sharing the same manganese-brass clad composition and dimensions as the earlier Sacagawea dollar and the newer Native American and American Innovation dollars.
Tradition & Historical Context
U.S. Mint coin designs are primarily developed by in-house Medallic Artists and artists participating in the Artistic Infusion Program (AIP). While the Mint has considerable flexibility in producing gold coins and silver medals at the direction of the Treasury Secretary, authorization for most other coins must originate with Congress. The possibility of a Trump dollar as part of the 2026 Semiquincentennial coinage was first announced by U.S. Treasury officials in October 2025.
Opponents argue that placing a living person or sitting president on U.S. coins breaks with long-standing American tradition and risks politicizing the nation’s currency. There have been exceptions. In 1926, a half dollar marking the nation’s 150th anniversary featured President Calvin Coolidge. The 1995 Special Olympics World Games Silver Dollar portrayed Eunice Kennedy Shriver — the first U.S. coin to feature a living woman.
Candidate designs for U.S. Mint coins are typically reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), both of which provide advisory recommendations. Final design decisions rest with the Treasury Secretary.
Legality, CFA Review & Recommendation
When the designs were presented Jan. 22 to the CFA, Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the Mint’s Office of Design Management, said legal research by the Mint and Treasury determined the coin is legal under the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-330), which, among other provisions, authorizes new designs for 2026 semiquincentennial coinage.
"… the legal research has been done … and they have determined that this does not violate any laws, that this, is perfectly, legal … under the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act," Sullivan said.
Under the Act, portraits of living people are prohibited on a design’s reverse, but no such restriction applies to the obverse.
The CFA later recommended obverse #3 and reverse #5 in a Jan. 30 letter to Mint Director Paul Hollis.
"The Commission members recommended obverse #3 and reverse #5 — comprising a side profile of President Donald J. Trump and the heraldic eagle from the Great Seal of the United States — as a classic pairing reminiscent of early twentieth-century coins. For the obverse, they praised this alternative for its statesman-like and accurate depiction of the President. For the reverse, they suggested removing the small icon of the Liberty Bell and recentering the eagle within the composition."
CCAC Developments
The CCAC, meanwhile, did not meet in January for reasons not directly stated, despite candidate designs requiring review for multiple coin programs and amid evident tension. At its Feb. 24 meeting, it declined to discuss any Trump $1 coin or Trump gold coin, the latter referenced in a Feb. 19 amended meeting agenda published by the Mint.
"On behalf of the majority of my colleagues, I have removed it from the agenda," said acting CCAC chair Donald Scarinci. "For 250 years … with a few controversial exceptions, no nation on Earth has issued coins with the image of a democratically elected leader during the time of their service … Only those nations ruled by Kings or dictators display the image of their sitting ruler on the coins of the realm."
Soon after Scarinci’s statement, an approximately 15-minute deposition-style exchange unfolded between CCAC member Kellen Hoard and Mint legal counsel James Kennedy. The discussion included questions about 2026 Semiquincentennial quarter designs reviewed and recommended earlier but later completely redesigned and minted without CCAC involvement. Kennedy said he appreciated the concerns but declined to address most questions in a public setting.
For context, the originally reviewed semiquincentennial quarter themes included Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Abolition, Suffrage, and Civil Rights. The final 2026 semiquincentennial designs instead recognize the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.
Candidate Designs for 2026 Semiquincentennial Trump $1 Coin
The CFA reviewed 11 candidate designs — three obverses and eight reverses. The designs feature a portrait of President Trump on the obverse. The symbols of the United States, including the Great Seal and the Liberty Bell, appear on reverses. U.S. Mint line-art images of the candidate designs are shown below.
Obverse Candidate Designs for 2026 Semiquincentennial Trump $1 Coin
Reverse Candidate Designs for 2026 Semiquincentennial Trump $1 Coin
What Comes Next
The proposal now proceeds within the Mint’s standard approval process, where advisory recommendations are weighed before final design decisions are made at the Treasury level.
