President Donald Trump smiles after signing an executive order during an event in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The U.S. Mint began selling $1 coins with President Donald Trump’s image on Wednesday, the latest instance of the president being added to federal government materials.
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The coins, which were announced in July, are being rolled out to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
They are being priced well above their face value: Buyers can get 25 $1 coins for $61 or a 100-count bag for $154.50. There is a limit of two orders per household, and the website to buy the coins appears to be putting potential buyers in a virtual waiting room due to the high demand. As of publication, the wait time was listed as more than an hour.
Trump’s image has already been added to limited-edition U.S. passports and the national parks’ annual pass.
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Living presidents typically do not appear on currency, but the Trump administration relied on a 2020 law that he signed during his first term to allow his portrait on the coin. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act allows the U.S. Mint, only in 2026, to issue “$1 dollar coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.”
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But Trump is not the first sitting president to appear on a coin. In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a half-dollar coin alongside George Washington to mark 150 years of the country’s independence — though the coin was intended to be a commemorative souvenir sold to the public, rather than to be used as currency like Trump’s coin.
“The coins — minted at the Philadelphia Mint — have circulating finishes but have never been placed into circulation. However, they may be still used as legal tender,” the U.S. Mint announced in its rollout of the $1 Trump coinage.
The U.S. Mint snuck 250,000 special-issue coins with a July 4th privy mark, or small symbol added to the currency, into some of the rolls and bags.
The Trump coin is gold-colored, but it is actually a mix of 88.5% copper with smaller quantities of zinc, manganese and nickel.
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