The Trump gold coin is not normal

Consider This from NPR

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has voted to approve the design for a new commemorative gold coin.


On one side, an eagle in flight – on the other, a portrait of President Trump, staring directly at the viewer.

Federal law prohibits living people from being featured on U.S. coins – though the Trump administration believes the Treasury Department has authority here.

Moreover, it breaks a norm that dates to the beginning of the country.

Caroline Turco, a curator at the Money Museum of the American Numismatic Association, explains.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
More description
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has voted to approve the design for a new commemorative gold coin.


On one side, an eagle in flight – on the other, a portrait of President Trump, staring directly at the viewer.

Federal law prohibits living people from being featured on U.S. coins – though the Trump administration believes the Treasury Department has authority here.

Moreover, it breaks a norm that dates to the beginning of the country.

Caroline Turco, a curator at the Money Museum of the American Numismatic Association, explains.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Karen Zamora and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
2026-03-23 6 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.