Trump either dies before the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States or he must break the law
The sycophantic atmosphere around the president has crossed all limits, and his personal cult is almost established, even the Mint is "fawning" for him
Almost a century ago, the United States celebrated its 150th anniversary. At that time, there were speeches, the Philadelphia World's Fair failed, more speeches were given, and a commemorative coin was issued — now when people mention this coin, it is mostly regarded as a failure case in the history of numismatics.
The New York Times reported that the commemorative coin issued in 1926 already featured the first president George Washington, who had died, along with the then-president Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge's image broke the tradition of the United States not to print the portrait of a sitting president on currency.
This tradition was set by Washington himself — he was extremely opposed to monarchy, and there are even rumors that he once said, "No kings." This half-dollar coin, which features the portraits of Washington and Coolidge, is the only U.S. coin to ever feature the image of a sitting president, but this "exception" did not last long.
The U.S. Treasury recently announced plans to issue a one-dollar commemorative coin featuring the portrait of President Trump to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States on July 4, 2026. In the initial design sketches, Trump's image appears twice, and there are no elements of the Founding Fathers at all: on the obverse, his profile partially obscures the word "LIBERTY"; on the reverse, he raises his fist, with "FIHT FIGHT FIGHT" (Fight, Fight, Fight — note: "FIHT" in the original should be a typo, the correct spelling is "FIGHT") printed below.
The concept of this coin itself reflects the division in American society regarding President Trump's term. Is it appropriate to print the portrait of a sitting president on a coin commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a historical moment that changed the world by overthrowing monarchical tyranny? Or is it simply a tasteless self-aggrandizement, subtly implying "the nation is me"?
Similar issues have repeatedly arisen throughout the 250-year history of American currency — because this country has always tried to make money a "mirror" of its ideals.
In the late 18th century, when the bold democratic experiment of America was just beginning, the portraits of monarchs and emperors had appeared on currency for nearly 2000 years. But young America had no intention of continuing this tradition. The Founding Fathers were working to establish a constitutional republic — they had just freed the North American colonies from Britain, and the double-chinned portrait of King George III on British currency constantly reminded people of "who the ruler was."
Considering Washington's rejection of any hint of monarchy, the U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act in 1792, which stipulated that U.S. currency should use symbolic images of "liberty" and include the word "liberty." Although the act did not explicitly prohibit the direct use of presidential portraits, it implied that the images of both past and current leaders should not appear on currency.
For generations, the United States has adhered to this tradition: the symbol of "Liberty" has been consistently depicted on currency in the form of a goddess. The initial design of the "Lady Liberty" was a woman with flowing hair, but later this image was modified — because some people were worried that the flowing hair would make her look like she had just seen a ghost.
In November 1963, shortly after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the U.S. Mint began planning to issue coins featuring his portrait. By early 1964, half-dollar coins featuring Kennedy's portrait had begun circulation — the profile of the deceased president was slightly overlaid on the word "LIBERTY." As recalled by Bet Disher, former editor-in-chief of "Coin World," this "quick action largely reflected the entire nation's grief."
In 2005, the U.S. Congress approved the issuance of commemorative coins, each featuring a one-dollar coin for every former president, but clearly stipulating that "no commemorative coins may feature the portrait of a current or living former president."
Lawmakers were extremely vigilant about any "suspected monarchical" elements, so the bill also added a provision: even if the coins featured the portraits of deceased former presidents, they could not be issued until "two years after the president's death."
Now, 20 years have passed, and this firm stance of "rejecting all monarchical elements" has vanished — at least during the tenure of the current president.
Members of Trump's cabinet have taken turns publicly using exaggerated praise for him. In June 2024, his government held a rare military parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Army (note: the U.S. Army was established in 1775, and 2025 will mark its 250th anniversary; the time expression here in the original text may be incorrect). The parade day coincided with his birthday. The U.S. Congress is also considering a bill to rename the "John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" after Trump and to name the opera house under the center after his wife, Melania Trump.
Three weeks before Trump unilaterally ordered the removal of the East Wing of the White House, U.S. Treasury Secretary Brandon Beach posted the design plan for the two-sided Trump commemorative coin on social media and captioned it, "There's no fake news here."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent quickly confirmed the plan to issue this commemorative coin and stated that according to a law passed in 2020, the coin must include "symbols of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States." He also added, "There is no better image than the portrait of the current president Donald Trump to represent the front of this coin."
Secretary Bessent cited the aforementioned law to "justify" the use of Trump's portrait as a symbol of the 250th anniversary of the founding, but this law does not explicitly prohibit printing the portrait of anyone (including the living) on currency. However, the law clearly states: "The reverse design of any coin must not include the portrait or bust of any person (whether living or deceased), especially the portrait of a living person."
This regulation obviously rules out the possibility of "Trump's portrait appearing on both sides of the coin" — not to mention that such a design is already a taboo in the field of numismatics.
The U.S. Treasury refused to disclose who first proposed to print Trump's portrait on the commemorative coin and also refused to explain the legal compliance of "printing two portraits of Trump on a single coin." A Treasury spokesperson said that although the final design has not been determined, "this preliminary plan fully embodies our nation's immortal spirit and democratic values, even though we are currently facing great challenges."
"I think George Washington would approve of this design," said Anthony Swanteck, author of the Encyclopedia of U.S. Commemorative Coins. "All of this is due to the achievements of President Trump."
"It's pure nonsense," replied Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University and author of several books on presidents. He believes that the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States should focus on the American republic and its people. In his view, issuing currency featuring the portrait of a sitting president to commemorate the 250th anniversary would only fuel "the personality cult created by him himself" — which was precisely what Washington had fought against.
He also added, "This practice is essentially anti-American."
How future generations will view this U.S. currency featuring the portrait of a sitting president remains unknown. However, based on the fate of the Washington-Coolidge commemorative coin from 1926, the answer may not be optimistic. At that time, the U.S. Mint produced 1 million half-dollar coins featuring the portraits of the first president and the 30th president, and nearly 860,000 of them were eventually recovered and melted down.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7570966704302408218/
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