President Trump wants his face on a coin. Maybe he should’t

On March 19, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts voted to approve a commemorative gold coin that flies in the face of the law. On one side of the coin President Donald Trump is seen scowling as he leans with his fist on a desk; on the other, a bald eagle carries the Liberty Bell. Designed for the United States’ semiquincentennial, the coin would break a longstanding U.S. tradition established via an 1866 law that bans living presidents from appearing on currency. Only one other living president in history has appeared on a coin: 100 years ago when then-President Calvin Coolidge’s profile was depicted alongside George Washington’s for the 1926 Sesquicentennial Half Dollar to mark the 150th anniversary of the U.S. founding. How the Trump coin got approved Last year, Trump fired the Commission of Fine Arts board and replaced it with his own nominees who could rubber stamp his design agenda. This is the commission who approved the coin’s design. [Images: US Mint] The p