Outside the Beltway

Semiquincentennial Coins Rolling Out

A somewhat obsolete commemoration of a somewhat tepid celebration.

James Joyner · Monday, January 5, 2026 · 10 comments

NPR (“New redesigned coins marking nation’s 250th birthday begin circulating today“):

New coins begin to circulate today, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding. The coins feature pilgrims and early presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. But other coins honoring civil rights figures and suffragettes won’t be minted.

In a break with tradition, the U.S. Mint is also considering issuing a $1 coin with the face of the current president, Donald Trump, a move usually shunned as a symbol of monarchy.

That has sparked pushback from some lawmakers and members of an advisory committee whose design recommendations were overruled.

The special coins were authorized back in 2021 in anticipation of this year’s big semiquincentennial celebration. That launched a lengthy design process that involved lots of focus groups and public outreach.

[…]

The committee ultimately recommended five commemorative quarters to roll out during the year. One would feature Frederick Douglass, to mark the abolition of slavery. Another would highlight the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. A third coin would have shown 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, to celebrate school desegregation and the civil rights movement.

The idea of the series was to honor not only the 250-year-old Declaration of Independence but also some of the battles fought in the centuries that followed to help realize that founding creed.

[…]

But when the Trump administration unveiled the new anniversary coins a few weeks ago, the Frederick Douglass, Ruby Bridges and suffragette quarters had been scrapped, replaced by coins featuring pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.

[…]

The Mint has also floated the idea of marking the nation’s 250th birthday with an unprecedented $1 coin featuring Trump’s likeness.

“It’s an absolute break from tradition,” says Douglas Mudd, curator and director of the Money Museum, run by the American Numismatic Association. “This would be a first to have a sitting president on a coin that’s intended for circulation.”

George Washington’s face didn’t appear on a coin until 1932, more than a century after his death. The nation’s first president was strongly opposed to that kind of personal aggrandizement.

“He expressly said, I, George Washington, will not have my portrait on United States coins. We are done with kings,” Scarinci says. “And for 250 years, around the world, the only nations that placed images of their rulers on coins are monarchs and dictatorships.”

Nine Democratic senators have written to the Treasury secretary, urging him to reject the Trump coin and avoid the appearance of a “cult of personality.”

“This is not just a coin,” Scarinci says. “It is American history that will last for an eternity. These coins that we produce reflect the values of a nation.”

As I noted during my June post, “American Patriotism at 250,”

I’m old enough to have pretty distinct memories of the long celebration that marked America’s Bicentennial in 1975-1976. Television programs were interspersed with “Bicentennial Minutes,” there was a Bicentennial quarter, a Bicentennial half dollar, a Bicentennial dollar coin, a Bicentennial $2 bill, and, well, Bicentennial pretty much everything. Hell, the Dallas Cowboys changed their helmet stripe for the season to red, white, and blue.

The coins were relatively modest:

I only vaguely remember the dollar, but we practically hoarded the quarters. And, yes, they remain in circulation half a century later.

Despite my sense that this year’s celebration is comparatively muted, the Mint is going all out. There are a plethora of quarters and dimes planned:

But just one nickel:

I was somewhat amused by this, from the Mint’s page:

To celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026, the Mint will be updating the circulating nickels, dimes, and quarters that you find in your pocket change. 

It has been quite some time since I routinely carried change in my pocket or, indeed, used coins. Unlike 1976, I suspect these coins will almost entirely be for collectors and those looking for souvenirs, rather than circulating currency.

I also suspect the floated Trump coin is merely trolling than something we’ll actually see. But the administration has certainly flouted longstanding norms before, so I won’t be absolutely shocked if it rolls out.

Certainly, given the anti-DEI tenor of the campaign and the administration, I’m not the least bit surprise that “woke” coins got canceled.