A federal commission consisting solely of Trump-appointed members voted Thursday to approve a 24-carat commemorative gold coin depicting the president in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The Commission of Fine Arts approved a design with an image of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with 1776 on one side and 2026 on the other.
The gold coin still requires an official approval from the Treasury, which takes into account the stances of both the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a federal panel with a wider range of members.
The New York Times reported last month on opposition to the gold coin from committee members. The panel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, signed into law shortly before Trump’s first term ended, says the Treasury may “mint for issuance during the one-year period beginning January 1, 2026, $1 dollar coins with designs emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.”
The gold coin comes on the heels of a multitude of jokes from the president in recent weeks during which he wishes he could “take credit” for the 250th anniversary.
“In my first term, I got the Olympics. My first term, I got the World Cup. And then I said, I wonder if anybody would notice if I said I got the 250 years,” Trump said at a White House event Tuesday, adding that it “didn’t do well.”
Trump has taken other steps to impose his name or likeness on parts of the federal government, such as affixing his name on both the Kennedy Center and U.S. Institute of Peace.
This isn’t Trump’s first time being associated with a coin. He launched the $TRUMP meme coin this term and held a private dinner with 220 crypto investors in May that cost $1 million to attend. The dinner sparked concerns on Capitol Hill from Democrats as well as Republicans like Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Trump has been involved with various plans to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, including America250 Grand Prix — an IndyCar race on the streets of Washington.