Scott Detrow (2:42)

It's considered this from npr. There are precedents on our coins except Abraham Lincoln is on the penny, Thomas Jefferson on the nickel, Franklin D. Roosevelt on the dime, George Washington on the quarter. And now the Commission of Fine Arts has approved a design featuring a portrait of Donald Trump. Perhaps it's not surprising, since the President fired all the commissioners last year and installed his own slate. Also unsurprising, the collectible coin will be made of 24 karat gold. To talk about where this coin fits in the history of US Currency and about the message it is sending, I spoke with Caroline Turco. She's a curator at the Money Museum run by the American Numismatic Association. Welcome to All Things Considered.

Caroline Turco (3:22)

Thanks for having me.

Interviewer (3:23)

Let's start here. What's the best way to think about this?

Scott Detrow (3:26)

How unusual is it for a living

Interviewer (3:28)

US President to appear on a coin?

Caroline Turco (3:30)

It would be unprecedented. It has happened once before, in 1926, when Calvin Coolidge, celebrating the 150th anniversary of our independence, placed himself before beside Washington. But at that time, it was not illegal. The legality of putting a living person on a coin did not occur until 1982. So if we're thinking about it in terms of an illegally minted coin, it would certainly be a first.

Scott Detrow (4:00)

So the Trump administration, I have to

Interviewer (4:02)

say, has, has argued that it's found legal loopholes to do this. But I think the broader point that you and many other experts have said is this just goes widely against 250 years of norms in this country.

Caroline Turco (4:12)

Absolutely. You know, when we first looked at coinage, 1792, when the US Mint was first established, they, they went to George and said, we're ready for you. We need your portrait. You've got to be on our coins. And he said, to paraphrase, over my dead body. You know, he said, we just fought a war against monarchy. Why on earth would we replicate how monarchs put themselves on coins?

Interviewer (4:34)

For people who haven't seen this design, can you describe the coin and what you make of it just as a coin, the image they're presenting, what you think is trying to say, you know,

Caroline Turco (4:44)

artistically, I think it's very strong. And I mean that both in terms of a design and in terms of the emotions it's presenting. But the obverse or the front of the coin features President Trump. And he is very aggressively standing, you know, before his desk with clenched fists. His very chiseled face is angry, I might argue. It certainly is a powerful image. It's an aggressive image and it's head on.

Interviewer (5:13)

It's not a side view that you

Caroline Turco (5:15)

get that is very unusual. But it certainly is a question of whether or not that's an intentional, I'm looking directly at you sort of statement.

Scott Detrow (5:24)

And am I right that it's not just living presidents?

Interviewer (5:27)

There has been a precedent of don't put living people on the coin.

Caroline Turco (5:30)

It is, it is living people.

Interviewer (5:32)

Yes.

Scott Detrow (5:32)

It's just a very clear cut.

Interviewer (5:34)

Like we want a clear view of who this person is before we put them on a coin. That's the reason, generally speaking, for this law.

Scott Detrow (5:39)

Right.

Caroline Turco (5:39)

It's kind of the reason. I think it's more about who has control of the narrative because if you're putting an active political person on there, then they have control of that narrative. Coins have been used as propaganda and as political messaging since the very beginning.

Scott Detrow (5:58)

And that's been a lot of the concern.

Interviewer (6:00)

But in 2026, you know, like so many people just don't come into contact with cash and coins these days.

Scott Detrow (6:08)

Is this of limited propaganda value?

Interviewer (6:11)

If that is a concern and partially

Caroline Turco (6:13)

part of the thinking, the majority of the American cash based money that's used is used abroad. So domestically, I think you have something there that like, it would be very limited also if it's on a 24 karat gold commemorative coin. The average human being is not ever going to see this. Have you seen the price of gold recently? But internationally, our coinage, and if we were to continue in this direction and end up putting presidents on circulating coins, that would become a significant messaging platform.

Scott Detrow (6:46)

Yeah.

Interviewer (6:47)

And it's worth noting there's this whole separate proposal for a $1 coin with Trump's face. It's not clear when or whether that would be minted as well.

Scott Detrow (6:53)

But I want to go back to

Interviewer (6:55)

the start of this. This is a coin commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States. If it were up to you, like what to you is a coin that best signifies the history of America. Which would you put forward at this moment?

Caroline Turco (7:08)

If it were up to me, it would have to be an image of Lady Liberty. We have used the concept of liberty, the allegory of liberty, since the very beginning of our coinage when we first made it in 1792. And we did that on purpose. We did that to avoid putting our leadership on coins. So liberty has represented our republic instead of rulers from the beginning. So that would be the most continuity I think that we could find in something for the 250th, that is.

Interviewer (7:39)

Caroline Turco, a curator with the Money Museum in Colorado Springs. Thank you so much.

Caroline Turco (7:44)

You're so welcome.

Scott Detrow (7:45)

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora and Connor Donovan with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jaron Wadanan. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Scott Detrow.

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