- The U.S. Treasury unveiled draft designs of a $1 coin showing Trump’s profile on one side and a raised fist motif with “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT” on the reverse.
- The coin would commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, under authority granted by a 2020 law allowing semiquincentennial $1 coins.
- Legal restrictions generally bar images of living presidents or their use on circulating currency.
After making history as the first U.S. president to launch a memecoin, Donald Trump may soon be honored with a commemorative one-dollar coin. The U.S. Treasury Department on October 3rd confirmed that this wasn’t fake news, but is part of America’s 250th anniversary plans for 2026.
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach shared draft renderings of the coin via X, and also reposted a tweet that read: ATTENTION ALL PATRIOTS… @POTUS @realDonaldTrump will forever be the face of America’s 250th Birthday. The Treasury followed up with public statements confirming that these were preliminary designs and that no final version had been selected.
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The draft artwork shows President Trump’s portrait on the obverse side with ‘LIBERTY’ and ‘1776-2026’ written on it. While the reverse side has him with a ‘raised fist along with a flag in the backdrop’, with the text FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT embossed around. Politico reported that the design process was overseen by Beach’s office.
Legal hurdles persist
The move is tied to the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, which allows the Treasury to mint special $1 coins for the U.S. semiquincentennial. However, a Treasury spokesperson cautioned that the design remains in flux, telling CBS News, “While a final $1 coin design has not yet been selected … this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country.”
Still, legal experts flag serious roadblocks ahead. U.S. law generally bars images of living persons on U.S. currency or coins. In particular, 31 U.S.C. 5112(n)(2)(E) prohibits depicting a living president on a $1 coin under the Presidential $1 Coin Program. Some argue that because this would be a commemorative rather than standard circulating coin, there may be leeway. But others say that existing statutes and tradition are too strong to override without new Congressional action.
Meme coin versus Dollar
Interestingly, both the meme coin and the proposed Trump Dollar use the slogan “Fight, Fight, Fight,” and both draw on the imagery of Trump with a raised fist, which stems from the same moment, after the 2024 assassination attempt. While the $TRUMP meme coin is more of a political and symbolic gesture based on his brand and fan base engagement, it is a crypto asset on the Solana blockchain. The Trump Dollar would be a physical U.S. $1 coin minted by the U.S. Treasury.
Past dollar coins with Presidents
The Presidential $1 Coin Program (2007–2016) placed deceased Presidents like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, in sequence, always after their deaths, on circulating $1 coins.
Calvin Coolidge, however, holds the rare distinction of being the only sitting U.S. president ever featured on a coin. In 1926, to mark America’s 150th anniversary, the Mint produced one million commemorative half-dollars bearing the likenesses of both Coolidge and George Washington. But over 850,000 of those coins were eventually returned and melted down.
When asked about the possibility of the president’s face appearing on a coin next year, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I’m not sure if he’s seen it, but I’m sure he’ll love it.”
