Trump is the only second living president to appear on a US coin, with a new $1 coin showing his image.
President Donald Trump became only the second living U.S. president to appear on an American coin when the U.S. Mint unveiled a new $1 coin featuring his portrait as part of the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations.
The Mint began selling rolls and bags of the 2026 Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump $1 Coin on Wednesday, September 2. The coin is also being issued as part of the year’s circulating coin programme.
The front, or headside, features a portrait of Trump and the words “LIBERTY”, “IN GOD WE TRUST”, and “1776 ~ 2026”. On the back is the Presidential Seal, and the number “250” is worked into the design to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The U.S. Mint is offering the coins in rolls of 25 for $61 and bags of 100 for $154.50. The prices are more than the face value of the coins combined. The Mint’s product page also notes that it initially put household purchase limits in place after the launch.
The coin is gold in appearance but has no gold in it. It is made up of 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese and 2% nickel. This coin was minted at the Philadelphia Mint and has a circulated finish.
It's unusual for the new coin to feature living people because federal rules have long barred their use on U.S. currency. But the Mint points to legislation passed during Trump’s first term that authorises a new $1 coin for 2026, the nation’s semiquincentennial. The authority is 31 U.S.C. §5112(y)(1)(C), as amended by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020.
But the Trump coin isn’t the first U.S. coin to feature a living president.
The obverse of the Sesquicentennial of American Independence half dollar, issued in 1926, featured George Washington and President Calvin Coolidge. That coin, the U.S. Mint says, was the first time a U.S. president's face was on a coin while he was still living.
That makes Trump the second living president to appear on U.S. coinage, a century after Coolidge.
It is essential to distinguish between coins and paper money. Historically, U.S. notes have been subject to federal restrictions on portraits of living people, but the legal framework for coins is different. The Trump administration has also floated a $250 note with Trump’s portrait, but that proposal faces its own legal and procedural questions.
New $1 coins are accepted as legal tender. These are meant for circulation, according to the Mint, although the rolls and bags sold directly to collectors contain coins that haven’t been put into circulation themselves.
The release comes as the U.S. prepares to mark 250 years since the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Trump $1 coin is among a number of coins and commemorative products redesigned by the Mint for the 2026 Semiquincentennial.
