A federal commission consisting solely of Trump-appointed members voted Thursday to approve a 24-carat commemorative gold coin depicting the president in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The Commission of Fine Arts approved a design with an image of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with 1776 on one side and 2026 on the other.
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach called it a "beautiful commemorative gold coin" in a statement Thursday.
"As we approach our 250th birthday, we are thrilled to prepare coins that represent the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, and there is no profile more emblematic for the front of such coins than that of our serving President, Donald J. Trump," Beach said.
The gold coin still requires an official approval from the Treasury, which takes into account the stances of both the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a federal panel with a wider range of members.
The New York Times reported last month on opposition to the gold coin from committee members.
Beach said Thursday that the U.S. Mint presented the committee with "multiple reasonable opportunities to review proposed designs, but the CCAC expressly declined."
"Accordingly, the Mint’s statutory obligation to seek CCAC review has been fulfilled," Beach said, adding that the committee's role is "only to advise" Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who "has sole discretion on final design selection."
The panel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, signed into law shortly before Trump’s first term ended, says the Treasury may “mint for issuance during the one-year period beginning January 1, 2026, $1 dollar coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.”
The Treasury Department introduced draft designs in October for a $1 coin that depicted Trump in honor of the 250th anniversary. Beach specified Thursday that the proposed commemorative gold coin is a separate project from the plan to mint a circulated coin.
The commemorative gold coin's approval by the Commission of Fine Arts comes on the heels of a multitude of jokes from the president in recent weeks during which he wishes he could "take credit" for the 250th anniversary.
"In my first term, I got the Olympics. My first term, I got the World Cup. And then I said, I wonder if anybody would notice if I said I got the 250 years," Trump said at a White House event Tuesday, adding that it "didn't do well."
Trump has taken other steps to impose his name or likeness on parts of the federal government, such as affixing his name on both the Kennedy Center and U.S. Institute of Peace.
This isn't Trump's first time being associated with a coin. He launched the $TRUMP meme coin this term and held a private dinner with 220 crypto investors in May that cost $1 million to attend. The dinner sparked concerns on Capitol Hill from Democrats, as well as Republicans like Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Trump has been involved with various plans to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary, including America250 Grand Prix — an IndyCar race on the streets of Washington.
