The US Treasury is working on a $1 coin to celebrate next year's 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Rather than featuring George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or James Madison, the current draft has not one but two images of President Trump -- in seeming violation of US law.  

After drafts of the coin started circulating on social media, US Treasurer Brandon Beach confirmed their veracity. Writing on X, he said, "No fake news here. These first drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday and and @POTUS are real." The "heads" side has a profile of Trump's face, while the "tails" side evokes the dramatic scene of Trump defiantly pumping his fist beneath an American flag moments after he was nearly assassinated on the campaign trail in July 2024. The image is accompanied by the words "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT." 

The commemorative coin was authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020. However, that law requires the coin to use "designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial." That's a subjective standard to be sure, but making Trump the sole focus of the coin seems like an enormous stretch.

However, there's a more explicit legal hurdle standing in the way of this vanity project: An 1866 law stipulates that American currency and coins may only have portraits of dead people. That law was the subject of a web page at the Treasury site that's been deleted. It's still viewable via an archived version here -- and reads:  

"The Act was caused by an uproar over the actions of the Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Spencer Clark. Clark placed himself on a five cent note and had a large quantity of them printed before it was noticed. Due to Clark's actions the already prepared 15 cent note featuring Sherman and Grant was never released.

Even if Trump were to die tomorrow, it would still be too soon to enable him to appear on the coin: The law bars depictions of of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President."  

Despite all that, there's a precedent for a living president to be featured on a coin commemorating America's founding: A half-dollar minted for the 1926 sesquicentennial featured an image of Washington and Calvin Coolidge next to each other and facing to the right. 

“While a final $1 dollar coin design has not yet been selected to commemorate the United States’ semiquincentennial, this first draft reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, even in the face of immense obstacles,” a Treasury Department spokesperson told Politico in a statement.