(AFP) – An advisory commission hand-picked by President Donald Trump has approved the design of a commemorative gold coin featuring his image, officials said Thursday, in a move slammed by Democratic opponents. The US Commission of Fine Arts declined to comment when asked by AFP after several media outlets showed the proposed design in reporting on the approval.
The coin is supposed to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. One side of it shows a glaring Trump standing with his fists bunched on a desk, and the other features an eagle perched with wings spread on what appears to be a bell. The coin does not have a monetary value and its sale price has not been disclosed, but similar commemorative coins sold by the US Mint can cost over $1,000.
“We are thrilled to prepare coins that represent the enduring spirit of our country and democracy, and there is no profile more emblematic for the front of such coins than that of our serving president,” US Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement. Beach noted that the design would differ from Trump images being planned for two other coins, a $1 piece that would be in circulation, and a one-ounce gold one.
Trump fired all six members of the US Commission of Fine Arts last October and replaced them with hand-picked people as he embarks on a series of renovation and building projects since returning to power in January. Most controversial are a ballroom he is building at the White House and the renovation of the famed Kennedy Center for the arts in Washington, which he has renamed after himself.
Another advisory panel, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, had refused in February to put Trump’s coin on the agenda for debate. Since the signature of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, “no nation on earth has issued coins with the image of a democratically elected leader during the time of their service,” one of the committee members, Donald Scarinci, said at the time. “Only those nations ruled by kings or dictators display the image of their sitting ruler on the coins of the realm,” he said.
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