The President Trump $1 Coin and $250 Note?

There's been a proposal to mint a commemorative dollar coin and engrave a $250 bank note, both with President Trump's likeness upon them, to mark the 250th Anniversary of our Republic.

Naturally this has certain people up in arms as well as being agog and aghast claiming it goes against all precedent.

Newsweek:  Trump Wants His Face on New $250 Bill; an 1866 Law Says It’s Not Allowed

 Newsweek in the article states that it is not allowed due to a law that prohibits living people from appearing on the currency:

The enthusiasm, however, runs directly into a long-standing legal barrier as federal statute prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency. The last time it happened was 1866, and Congress outlawed it immediately afterward. 

 The federal statute enacted in 1866 bars living people from appearing on U.S. currency, a rule created after the government briefly allowed a Treasury official’s portrait on a 5‑cent note. The restriction has remained in place ever since, meaning the Treasury cannot legally produce a $250 bill with Trump’s image unless Congress changes the law. 

Well, that statement is not in fact correct, nor has the restriction has remained in place ever since 1866. 

In honor of the United States Sesquicentennial, in 1926, a Half Dollar was minted with both President Washington and the then President Calvin Coolidge on the coin:  

 

So, yes,  there is precedent for a living seated president to be on money in the year of an important anniversary of our republic. Calvin Coolidge, being a darn good President certainly was worthy of the honor in any case.

However, these days, short of the coin and note being limited runs strictly as commemorative items, it would take legislation passing to have President Trump on a bill or coin in general circulation, and there is proposed legislation at the moment to do so.  

It may be tacky to some, even as the mock-ups of the coin and note do look pretty good.  

It may cause his opponents to go even crazier (which they seem to have no problem doing) -- which could be considered a bug or a feature.  

But, it is not the first time it has been done and it is not unprecedented for a present president to be put upon the currency.

Making Cents - The Case For Ending The Penny

Inflation has made the penny barely worthwhile nowadays. 

Indeed, the early symbol for a penny originated with the Roman denarius - a coin that once was a day's pay for a Roman legionary. When English translations of the Bible referred to a penny they were, in fact, referring to the denarius.

The days when a penny was a day's pay are long, long, long gone. 

Verily, even most people's thoughts these days are more costly than a penny.

Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the currency, and now the lowly penny may be making its final farewell.

The United States 1 cent coin costs 3.69 cents to make,  a 20% increase this year alone, currently costing the US Treasury a loss of $179 million dollars per year minting them for them to sit in people's drawers or jars, and weigh down their purses.

As such, Trump has instructed the Treasury to stop producing them.

While from a sentimental standpoint, keeping the penny is attractive as the US has had pennies since 1787, it is likely time to join other nations such as Canada in letting the penny make a graceful exit from our money supply.

Other US coins have gone by the wayside. For example, the last United States half penny was last minted  over 150 years ago in 1857 and the lack of 1/2 pennies hasn't been missed or remarked upon. 

Expect the penny to be removed for circulating currency if Congress agrees, and the costs of items to be rounded up or down accordingly.

The end of the penny, after all, just makes cents.

A Nickel Ain't Worth A Dime Anymore - Yogi Berra

Nickels may not be worth a dime, but this particular one is worth a lot more than a dime, in fact, it just sold for 45,000,000 dimes.

Photo taken by Heritage Auctions - Provided by Heritage Auctions with permission, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21547957

The Detroit News: Rare nickel sells for $4.5 million at auction

Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold the Eliasberg 1913 Liberty Head nickel Wednesday night during the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

It is named for financier Louis E. Eliasberg, who bought the coin in 1948 and amassed one of the greatest coin collections in U.S. history. The Eliasberg 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five ever produced and is considered the finest-graded example of its kind.

The sale set a new record price for 1913 Liberty Head nickels.