Killing the penny was just the start. Trump is rewriting the rules on America’s coins
The next signs of the nation’s political divide might be jingling in your pocket next year.
The administration plans to issue a $1 coin with President Donald Trump’s likeness on it next year, despite a century-old precedent of not honoring sitting, or even living former, presidents on coins.
Instead of quarters honoring the abolition of slavery, granting women the right to vote and the Civil Rights movement, the Treasury will instead issue historical quarters featuring white men from the 18th and 19th centuries who were already well represented on currency and in historical tributes.
The new coins, coming after the administration stopped issuing new pennies earlier this year, underscore Trump’s drive to put his own stamp on the presidency far beyond the confines of the White House – whether it’s by putting his own face and name on US institutions or by pulling back on diversity efforts to reframe the story of America itself.
The US Mint on Thursday released the final coin designs for historical quarters celebrating the country’s 250th birthday next year. Rather than the fight against slavery or giving women the vote, the designs primarily honored a more homogeneous view of US history: George Washington for the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, James Madison and the Constitution, Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, as well as pilgrims to celebrate the Mayflower Compact.
“The designs on these historic coins depict the story of America’s journey toward a ‘more perfect union,’ and celebrate America’s defining ideals of liberty,” said Kristie McNally, the acting director of the Mint, in a statement.
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