Members of a federal arts commission voted on Thursday to create a 24-carat commemorative gold coin featuring President Donald Trump — and to make it “as large as possible.”
The Commission of Fine Arts, a seven-person panel appointed by the president, passed a motion calling for the U.S. Treasury to manufacture the coin. The gold piece would feature Trump leaning over the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on one side and a bald eagle on the other.
Trump personally reviewed and approved the proposed design for the coin, Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the Office of Design Management at the U.S. Mint, told the panel.
The committee’s vice chair, James McCrery II, the initial architect for Trump’s White House ballroom project, 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 move is the latest example of the commission’s show of fealty to the president and his allies’ push to memorialize his image across the nation’s capital. The body previously approved the president’s plans for a massive White House ballroom despite widespread opposition from both the public and preservationists. In January, its members also greenlit the design for a $1 coin emblazoned with the 79-year-old president’s face, which the Treasury has confirmed it plans to manufacture.
Those are also among the many efforts, spearheaded by Trump and his supporters, to adorn national symbols and institutions with his name or likeness, as he has with the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Peace.
The Treasury makes the final decision on the design of commemorative coins after consulting with both the Commission of Fine Arts and the independent Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, according to Congress. But the latter committee has voiced its opposition to 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.
Independent journalist Marisa Kabas previously reported that the Treasury Department deleted video footage of the meeting in which committee members voiced their objections.
Prominent coin collectors and Democrats have also said they oppose the Trump coin.
The Treasury sells commemorative coins — which are intended to be souvenirs and collectors’ items — for several thousand dollars.
Sullivan, the Mint official, told the panel on Thursday that the Trump coin “will be a very limited production run.” “They’ll sell out,” McCrery later quipped. Sullivan added that 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. The commission’s members — Trump allies, including conservative commentators and appointees in the first Trump administration — largely approved of the Mint’s plans during the approximately 15-minute discussion. Commission member Chamberlain Harris, a 26-year-old White House aide, described the proposed image of Trump as “very strong and very tough,” which she said was “fitting” in light of the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Regarding the proposed size, she said she agreed with McCrery’s take. “I think the larger the better,” Harris said. “And I think the largest of that circulation would be [Trump’s] preference.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Mint did not respond to MS NOW’s questions.
Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky. Recommended
