Treasury defends lawfulness of minting $1 Trump coin under 1866 law restricting living individuals on US currency.

Treasury defends lawfulness of minting $1 Trump coin under 1866 law restricting living individuals on US currency.

The U.S. Treasury is considering minting a commemorative one-dollar coin to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary, featuring an image of President Donald Trump. U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach announced the draft design, which includes Trump's face on one side and a portrait of him pumping his fist on the other, with the words "Fight, Fight, Fight" engraved around the top .

The Treasury's decision is based on the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which allows for the minting of $1 coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial starting in January 2026 . However, the proposed coin design raises questions about the lawfulness of featuring a living person on U.S. currency.

The 1866 Thayer Amendment prohibits living individuals from appearing on government securities . Additionally, a separate provision prohibits living former or current Presidents from appearing on the $1 coin . However, the Treasury spokesperson suggested that Congress could provide an exception, as it did in 1926 when President Calvin Coolidge was featured on a half-dollar coin for the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence .

The Treasury has not yet selected a final design and has indicated that more information will be shared soon. The minting of the coin would be subject to the approval of the Treasury secretary and potentially Congress .