The Trump administration has entered yet another series of controversy, this time over plans of issuing a $1 coin featuring US President Donald Trump, despite a 1866 law stating that only deceased individuals may appear on the American currency.Last week the initial designs released by the US treasurer were met with criticism, as some accused the administration of bending the rules to allow Trump to honour himself. The 1866 law was introduced to prevent any impression that America was operating like a monarchy by featuring living leaders on money, according to the New York Times.The treasury department responded on Monday claiming that the coin is legal under the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020. Quoting the legislation, the department said that treasury secretary Scott Bessent is authorised to issue coins “with designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial,” and that the coin reflects Trump and his vision for the country.“On this momentous anniversary, there is no profile more emblematic for the front of this coin than that of our serving President, Donald J Trump,” the treasury department wrote on social media platform X. Draft designs show the coin’s “heads” side featuring Trump’s profile, while the “tails” side would portray him standing in front of the American flag, pumping his fist beneath the words “Fight, Fight, Fight.” The coin is set to enter circulation in 2026 and will be legal tender.However, the 2020 law places restrictions on reverse-side designs, stating that “no head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of specified coins.”Just like many Trump administration initiatives proceed, the matter could ultimately end up in court to be settled.The rule barring living people from appearing on currency dates back to 1866, after Spencer Clark, then head of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, put his own image on a five-cent note and had numerous copies printed before it was noticed. An archived treasury webpage that once explained the law, has since been removed.The cost of producing the coin is not yet known and will largely depend on the materials used and how many coins are minted, the New York Times reported.The coin announcement comes months after Trump ordered the Treasury to stop producing pennies, saying they cost more to make than they are worth.Trump has previously sparked currency controversies. During his first term, he blocked plans to feature Harriet Tubman on the $20 note, dismissing the proposal as “pure political correctness.”
