Donald Trump's face appears on new $1 coin to mark US' 250th anniversary

A new US $1 commemorative coin featuring Donald Trump has gone on sale for America's 250th anniversary, with initial supplies selling out rapidly

 Donald Trump has made an appearance on US currency, with the US president’s face now featured on a new $1 coin launched to mark America’s 250th anniversary. The coin went on sale through the US Mint on Wednesday, but demand was so strong that its rolls and bags appeared to sell out within hours.

 

The gold-coloured coin is legal tender and was issued to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary, while its design has drawn interest for featuring a portrait of a sitting president.

 

What does the Trump $1 coin look like?

 

Trump’s portrait appears on the obverse, or “heads”, side of the coin, while the reverse features the Great Seal of the United States. The design includes:

 

 

• Trump’s portrait with the words “LIBERTY” and “IN GOD WE TRUST”
• The dates “1776 ~ 2026” below his portrait
• The Great Seal on the reverse, featuring a bald eagle
• “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, meaning “out of many, one”, on a banner held by the eagle

 

The US Mint says the coin was created to honour 250 years of American heritage. The design was approved by the US Commission of Fine Arts earlier this year, while Trump has previously described the idea of putting his face on a coin as “very unusual” and said he was honoured by it.

 

Trump coin sells out within hours

 

The US Mint began selling the coins at noon on Wednesday, with buyers able to purchase them in rolls of 25 or bags of 100.

 

A roll of 25 was priced at $61, while a bag containing 100 coins cost $154.50. The Mint limited purchases to two orders per household during the initial sales period, and its website later said additional inventory was being made.

 

Some coins also carry a special “July 4th” privy mark because they were struck on 4 July, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A total of 250,000 such coins were randomly included in the rolls and bags, making them particularly interesting to collectors.

 

Why is Trump’s portrait controversial?

 

The coin has attracted scrutiny because US law generally prohibits placing the image of a living president on US currency. However, special legislation linked to the country’s 250th anniversary created an exception allowing special $1 coins to be issued. Trump’s portrait appears on the front of the coin rather than the reverse, in line with the legislation governing the commemorative issue.

 

The US Mint has noted that the only previous instance of a living president appearing on a US coin was Calvin Coolidge, whose image featured on a commemorative half dollar in 1926 to mark the 150th anniversary of US independence.

 

Despite its gold appearance, the coin is not made of gold. It is composed primarily of copper, along with zinc, manganese and nickel, and it can be used as ordinary legal tender.