Chapter 1: What unusual design was approved for the new commemorative gold coin?
If you walk around Washington, it can feel like you are running into President Trump every time you turn the corner. Looked up and there it said, Donald J. Trump on the building. That was Trump last month at the newly renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. I had nothing to do with it. I swear I didn't. I had no idea.
He also claimed he was surprised when his name was added to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he is chairman of the Board of Trustees. Giant portraits of him hang from the headquarters of the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture. and the Department of Justice.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history, told NPR that what Trump is doing mirrors what autocrats have done for a century.
The leader must be everywhere. His face must be everywhere. His name must be everywhere. And his aesthetic, his taste, must be reflected in buildings, in the people around him,
Last week, a much smaller tribute to Trump made news. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted to approve the design for a new commemorative coin. Consider this. President Trump's likeness may soon be on a U.S. coin. It is another sharp break with American tradition. From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.
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There are presidents on our coins. 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-carat gold. To talk about where this coin fits in the history of U.S. 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. Thanks for having me. Let's start here. What's the best way to think about this?
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Chapter 2: How does the Trump gold coin break with American tradition?
It's not the typical side view that you get. Yes. 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.
And am I right that it's not just living presidents? There has been a precedent of don't put living people on the coin.
It is. It is living people. Yes.
It's just a very clear cut. 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, right?
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.
And that's been a lot of the concern. But in 2026, you know, like so many people just don't come into contact with cash and coins these days. Is this of limited propaganda value, if that is a concern and partially 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. It would be very limited. Also, if it's on a 24-carat gold commemorative coin, the average human being is not ever going to see this. Have you seen the price of gold recently? No.
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.
Yeah. And it's worth noting there's this whole separate proposal for a one dollar coin with Trump's face. It's not clear when or whether that would be minted as well. But I want to go back to 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?
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