Did Trump Find a Loophole? The Coin Controversy Raising Eyebrows

After the US Commission of Fine Arts revealed a set of new $1 coins adorned with Donald Trump’s face to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary , people flocked to social media to debate whether the new tender breaks federal law. Allegedly, age-old laws state that living presidents are not allowed to feature on currency, but has Trump found a loophole? One X user referenced the Thayer Amendment , a 140-year-old law which prevents the use of any living person’s image on currency. The critic wrote: “Federal law strictly prohibits living individuals from being depicted on United States currency. "Established by the Thayer Amendment of 1866, this law mandates that portraits on U.S. notes, bonds, and securities only feature deceased persons.” The dollar coins feature a much younger-looking Trump. Credit: X/@SecScottBessent Has Trump actually broken the law? Another law which it appears Trump has broken is the 2005 Presidential $1 Coin Act , which laid out a list of rules to adhere to when creating $1 coins to pay tribute to past presidents. The act states: “No coin issued…may bear the image of a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the two-year period following the date of the death of that President.” In March, James Rickher, a retired lawyer, launched a legal challenge against the Trump coin based on his knowledge that legitimate currency should not feature a living president. However, the lawsuit collapsed just a few months later after the judge claimed Rickher couldn’t demonstrate that the coin would cause him any personal harm. Judge Karin J. Immergut declared that he could not rule on whether the coin broke federal law because the subject is too uncertain to allow a decision. This is because other rules state that if the dollar is commemorative and not intended to be spent, it is not considered breaking the law to put an image of a living president on a coin. Donald Trump is the first president in 100 years to put his face on a coin. Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty It is not the first time a living President has appeared on currency The U.S. Mint announced it will issue $1 coins featuring Trump’s face, which the administration claims is law-abiding under the 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act . The Treasury secretary has the authority to issue $1 coins “with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial” for a year. However, the only other living president to appear on currency since the US began making its own legal tender in 1792 was Calvin Coolidge, who appeared on coins in 1926. Recently, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the White House is well within its rights to make Trump Coins. He told host Jesse Watters: “As Treasury secretary, I only have two mandates: the currency has to say ‘In God We Trust’ somewhere on it and there cannot be an image of a living person. “During the 150th, there was a Calvin Coolidge coin, so we can put living people’s images on a coin.” Featured image credit: X/@SecScottBessent