▲ Image of the $1 coin posted by the U.S. Treasury Secretary on X. (Photo: Yonhap News)
A golden $1 coin featuring the face of U.S. President Donald Trump will be issued to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the image of the newly minted $1 coin on social media platform X on July 15 (local time).
The obverse side features the face of President Trump, surrounded by the word 'LIBERTY' and the year of the nation's founding.
The reverse side features an image of a bald eagle, the national bird of the United States.
Secretary Bessent emphasized, "By featuring President Trump on the coin, we are commemorating the strength of American values and our national commitment to defending liberty for all."
While U.S. federal law prohibits placing the portrait of a living person on a $1 coin, a bill for the 250th anniversary commemorative coin was passed in 2020, during the first Trump administration, which prohibited placing a person's face on the reverse side, regardless of whether they are living or deceased. This leaves room for the argument that a portrait can be placed on the obverse side of the coin.
The minting of the coins has begun, and they will be issued starting this autumn.
Although the coin has a golden hue that President Trump favors, it is made of brass, not real gold.
According to the U.S. political media outlet Politico, the original design featured President Trump on both the obverse and reverse sides.
The obverse side showed a profile of President Trump, while the reverse side depicted his upper body with his right arm raised, accompanied by the phrase 'FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT'.
The image was intended to recall the assassination attempt during the presidential campaign in July 2024.
However, it is reported that the decision was made to keep President Trump's face only on the obverse side, in consideration of potential legal controversies.
President Trump is not the first sitting president to have his face appear on a U.S. coin.
In 1926, a 50-cent commemorative coin produced for the 150th anniversary of the U.S. founding featured the faces of then-President Calvin Coolidge and the first U.S. President, George Washington, side by side.
President Trump also included his signature on the $100 bill commemorating the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.
He also added his name to the 'Kennedy Center', a prominent performing arts venue in Washington D.C., but was recently ordered by a court to remove it.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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