Trump $1 coins sell out on launch day despite steep price markup
The U.S. Mint released a gold-colored $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump to celebrate the 250th anniversary, with rolls and bags priced at $61 for 25 coins and $154.50 for 100, and a number of coins sold at premium above face value while remaining legal tender. The coins, which contain copper-based alloys with a gold-like finish rather than actual gold, carry Trump’s portrait on the obverse and the Presidential Seal on the reverse, accompanied by the semiquinennial marking 1776–2026 and the number 250. A batch of 250,000 special-issue coins bearing a July 4th privy mark was randomly distributed, and sales were strong enough to cause early stockouts on launch day. The program, authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 and approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, marks what some say is the first time in about a century that a sitting president appears on circulating U.S. currency, amid ongoing controversy over living-person imagery on money. Beyond circulating considerations, the initiative is part of broader 2026 commemorative efforts under the Mint’s Semiquincentennial Coin program, which has drawn scrutiny and lawsuits regarding its legality and symbolism.