America doesn’t need a Trump coin – or any other presidential coin

George Washington refused to allow his image to be placed on the nation’s coins because it would be too “royal.”

But will the Trump administration overcome this old myth with a new dollar coin bearing two images of President Trump?

Congress The law was issued five years ago Call for the distribution of $1 coins as a “symbol of the United States’ bicentennial” next year.

Nothing is more symbolic of our nation’s history and accomplishments than a picture of Donald Trump.

“Under the historic leadership of President Donald J. Trump, our nation enters its 250th anniversary stronger, more prosperous and better than ever,” the Treasury Department said this month.

It released a preliminary design for the Trump coin ““It reflects well the enduring spirit of our country and democracy.”

On the front side of the coin, a large image of Trump partially obscures the word “Liberty.” That’s just a typo, right? Under Trump’s face are the words, “In God We Trust.”

At least there’s no arrow pointing from “God” to Trump. If Trump’s devout fans are looking for memorabilia, the dollar coin will be much cheaper than the official Donald Trump “God Bless American Bibles” coin that he sells for $59.99.

The reverse side of the coin is inspired by last year’s assassination attempt, showing Trump with his clenched fist in front of an American flag with the words “Killer, Killer, Killer” above it.

It’s an iconic image, however. . .

Trump’s coin may violate an 1866 law prohibiting living persons from holding U.S. coins.

This law was raised by the supervisor of the National Currency Office Create a scandal 5 cents premium His own image.

That was at a time when the Treasury Department was being denounced on Capitol Hill as a “A house for orgies and orgies“.

The 1866 law had been violated once before with unfortunate political and monetary consequences.

In 1926, a commemorative half dollar was presented on the nation’s 150th birthday to George Washington and President Calvin Coolidge.

Some critics denounced the coin, but The New York Times predicted it would Coolidge Promotion Chances of re-election.

However, Silent Cale did not attend in 1928. The Americans refused to pay a single dollar for the fifty-cent coins, and most of the coins were not sold and were melted down in 1934.

Trump’s dollar bill will be less inconvenient for Americans than it was Trillion dollar coin The Obama and Biden administrations thought of minting money as a magical way to pay off the federal budget deficit.

Almost all of the internal documents on that coin have been classified as state secrets, according to a recent report It has been extensively revised Response to the Freedom of Information Act

A trillion dollar coin would be the ultimate religious relic Modern Monetary Theory crazies.

It is unfortunate that a Trump coin would correspond to the Treasury Department’s perversion of American political thought.

Our coins nowadays are little more than paeans to dead politicians – from Lincoln (1 cent), Jefferson (5 cents), Roosevelt (10 cents), Washington (25 cents) to Kennedy (50 cents).

The Coinage Act of 1792 required that all coins in the United States bear “an impression symbolizing Liberty.”

The U.S. Mint reported last year that federal law still requires “coins to represent the concept of liberty, but instead of a mythical figure, presidents are that depiction.”

This statement was under a head-shaking subheading: “Bosses are like freedom“.

Call me a relic, but I prefer the definition of freedom in the Bill of Rights.

The phrase “presidents are like freedom” reduces freedom to nothing more than the slipping of coins with flimsy designs whose value quickly fades away to the hapless citizens.

The US dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power in the last century.

Instead of emulating Trump or his trillions of dollars, we should go back to what the United States does best.

One hundred years ago, America had some of the most beautiful coins in the world, including a $20 gold coin designed by the famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

That coin showed Lady Liberty confidently walking forward carrying symbols of peace and enlightenment, with a majestic eagle decorating the reverse side.

(Unfortunately for freedom and American currency, President Franklin Roosevelt banned the law Private ownership of gold In 1933).

The quarter and half dollars of the 1920s, as well as the silver Peace dollar, also showed exemplary women symbolizing freedom.

Rewind two centuries, and the 1804 silver dollar and other early coin designs are as glorious as ever.

In order to properly commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, our coins must be recast with beautiful designs that embody the American creed that no human being has the right to be held sacred above all others.

The Republic must idealize its freedom, not its leaders.

Neither Trump nor any other American president, living or dead, represents the highest value in America.

We need the minted copy of George Washington’s farewell address in 1796, heeding his warning against monarchical symbols that breed subservience to treacherous politicians.

James Bovard is the author of 11 books, including “Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty“, and a former member of the American Numismatic Society.