The US Mint put a living president on a dollar coin for the first time since Calvin Coolidge appeared on the 1926 sesquicentennial half-dollar, and the product sold out within hours. The commemorative $1 piece bearing Donald Trump's portrait on the obverse went on sale priced at $61 for a roll of 25 and $154.50 for a bag of 100, then showed as unavailable on the Mint's website the same day.
The legal workaround
Federal statute bars living persons from US currency, and the Thayer Amendment of 1866 explicitly prohibits living portraits on notes. The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, enacted during Trump's first term, extends that restriction to the reverse of coins but is silent on the obverse. The Mint placed Trump's likeness on the heads side, a reading that allies in Congress have tried to codify through legislation that remains stalled.
The numbers and the premium
At $2.44 per coin in the 25-count roll and $1.545 each in the 100-count bag, the Mint is charging a substantial premium over face value for what it describes as a "once-in-a-generation anniversary design" marking the nation's 250th birthday. The rapid sellout suggests collector demand at those levels, though the Mint has not disclosed mintage figures or whether additional production runs are planned.
The $250 bill that isn't
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in May that the department was planning a $250 bill featuring Trump's portrait. No such denomination exists in current circulation, and the Thayer Amendment would block it unless Congress acts. The coin arrived first, and the bill remains a proposal without legislative vehicle.
What to watch
The Mint has not said whether the sellout reflects a fixed mintage limit or temporary inventory depletion. Secondary-market pricing will indicate whether the premium holds. Meanwhile, the stalled congressional exception and the $250 bill proposal remain the only paths to put a living president on circulating money rather than a collectible priced well above face.