Trump Becomes First Living US President On Currency In A Century With New $1 Coin

The United States Mint has begun selling a new $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump, making him the first US president in a century to appear on an official US coin during his lifetime.

The 2026 Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump $1 Coin became available through the Mint on Wednesday, September 2, as part of the country’s 250th-anniversary celebrations. Trump’s portrait appears on the obverse, alongside the inscriptions “LIBERTY”, “IN GOD WE TRUST” and “1776 ~ 2026”. The reverse features the Presidential Seal and the inscription “250”.

A Rare Precedent

Trump is only the second sitting US president to appear on a US coin during his lifetime.

The first was Calvin Coolidge, whose portrait appeared alongside George Washington on the 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence half dollar. The US Mint says that coin “marked the first time a U.S. President's portrait appeared on a coin during his lifetime”.

The Trump dollar is being issued under legislation allowing the Treasury secretary to mint and issue a new $1 coin for a one-year period beginning January 1, 2026, to mark the Semiquincentennial. The Mint says the issue is authorised under the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020.

The coin was designed by US Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna, with the obverse based on an official White House photograph by Daniel Torok. Former Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro designed and sculpted the reverse.

Collector Release

The first Trump dollars being sold by the Mint are not yet in everyday circulation.

The Mint began offering rolls of 25 coins for $61 and bags of 100 coins for $154.50 on September 2. Although the coins have a circulating finish and are legal tender, the Mint says those sold in the initial rolls and bags have never been placed into circulation.

The Mint’s campaign says the coins will be released into circulation separately.

The Mint has also produced 250,000 coins bearing a special “July 4th” privy mark. These were struck at the Philadelphia Mint on July 4 and distributed randomly among the rolls and bags sold to collectors.

Part Of Anniversary Coinage

The Trump dollar is part of a broader one-year redesign of US coinage for the country’s 250th anniversary.

The Mint’s regular Presidential $1 Coin programme, which began in 2007 with portraits of former presidents, had its circulating production suspended in 2011 after demand was met by existing inventories. The Trump coin is separate from that programme and is specifically tied to the Semiquincentennial.

The coin’s release consequently marks a rare moment in US numismatic history. Trump’s portrait now appears on an official federal dollar coin while he is serving as president, repeating the precedent set by Coolidge on the 1926 Sesquicentennial half dollar.