Coin bearing Donald Trump's image runs into an 1866 law

"The cult of personality surrounding Donald Trump in some conservative circles in the United States is generating controversy. Several allies have presented some extravagant bills, such as carving Trump's face into Mount Rushmore, making his birthday a federal holiday, or renaming Dulles International Airport, a few miles from Washington, after him. The proposal that seems to be taken most seriously, however, is the Treasury Department's plan to mint a coin bearing the president's image to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the country's independence."

"But their intentions have been thwarted by a law passed in 1866, which prohibits living persons from appearing on coins. According to The New York Times, coins must bear designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial [...] The 1866 law enshrined a tradition that individuals could appear on U.S. currency only posthumously to avoid the appearance that America was a monarchy."

"In 2020, Congress passed bipartisan legislation, signed by Trump during his first term, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to mint one-dollar coins during the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. But that law, known as the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, also states that No head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of specified coins"

Controversy is growing in the US over whether living persons may appear on circulating dollars. Several allies proposed extravagant tributes to Donald Trump, such as carving his face into Mount Rushmore, making his birthday a federal holiday, and renaming Dulles International Airport. The Treasury Department proposed minting a coin bearing the president's image to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. An 1866 law prohibits living persons from appearing on coins to avoid the appearance of monarchy. The 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act authorized commemorative one-dollar coins but barred head-and-shoulders portraits of living persons on specified coin reverses. Treasury posts named President Trump as an emblematic profile for the coin front.

Read at english.elpais.com