Size matters — at least when it comes to coins commemorating President Donald Trump.
The members of the Commission of Fine Arts voted Thursday to create a 24-carat commemorative gold coin that will feature Trump, per MS NOW.
The commission also said to make it “as large as possible.”
The commission is a seven-person panel appointed by Trump. It passed a motion directing for the U.S. Treasury to manufacture the coin.
The gold piece is expected to feature Trump leaning over the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on one side and a bald eagle on the other.
Trump reviewed and approved the proposed coin design, Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the Office of Design Management at the U.S. Mint, told the panel.
James McCrery II, the committee’s vice chair,, called for the motion to pass “with the strong encouragement that you make it as large as possible, all the way to three inches in diameter,” the biggest size the Mint has available.
“In terms of the diameter, I think the President likes big things,” he said. “Generally, I do too.”
The commission previously approved the president’s plans for a White House ballroom despite opposition from both the public and preservationists.
In January, members also voted in favor of design for a $1 coin with the president’s face.
The Treasury makes the final decision on the design of commemorative coins. It will consult with both the Commission of Fine Arts and the independent Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, according to Congress. The latter committee has opposed putting the president on a commemorative coin, The New York Times reported last month.
“Only those nations ruled by kings or dictators display the image of their sitting ruler on the coins of the realm,” said the committee’s acting chairman, Donald Scarinci, according to the Times.
Sullivan, the Mint official, told the panel on Thursday the Trump coin “will be a very limited production run.”
“They’ll sell out,” McCrery later said.
Sullivan added officials were considering making it larger than their typical one-ounce coin, which measures about 1.29 inches in diameter, based on the proposed design.
Commission member Chamberlain Harris, a 26-year-old White House aide, described the image of Trump as “very strong and very tough,” which she said was “fitting” in light of the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
She also agreed with the coin’s size.
“I think the larger the better,” Harris said. “And I think the largest of that circulation would be [Trump’s] preference.”
