This prediction market topic concerns whether the United States Mint will finalize a design for a one-dollar coin featuring former President Donald Trump before January 1, 2027. The market resolves to 'Yes' if the U.S. Mint or the Department of the Treasury officially announces the selection of a final design for such a coin within that timeframe. The topic intersects federal commemorative coin programs, presidential legacy, and contemporary political dynamics, making it a subject of both numismatic interest and political speculation. The process for creating a presidential dollar coin is governed by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, which established a program to issue coins honoring deceased U.S. presidents in the order they served. A coin for Donald Trump, as a living former president, would require new legislative action, setting this apart from the existing program. Recent interest stems from political movements advocating for the commemoration of the 45th president and broader debates about how presidential legacies are officially memorialized through currency. The topic garners attention from collectors, political analysts, and observers of American political culture, as it represents a tangible symbol of historical recognition with a defined bureaucratic and legislative pathway.

Historical Context

The modern precedent for presidential dollar coins was established by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush. This act mandated a series of circulating one-dollar coins honoring each former president, issued at a rate of four per year in the order they served. A key provision, Section 104(b), states that no coin can be issued 'bearing the image of a living former President.' The program began in 2007 with George Washington and continued through 2020 with Ronald Reagan, after which it was paused due to a surplus of dollar coins in Federal Reserve inventories. The act also created the First Spouse Gold Coin Program. Historically, depicting living individuals on U.S. circulating coinage is exceptionally rare. The last instance was the 1900 Lafayette dollar, which featured President William McKinley, who was in office and alive when the coin was issued. Since then, policy and tradition have favored honoring deceased figures, with the 1971 Eisenhower dollar (issued after his death) and the 1986 Susan B. Anthony dollar serving as modern examples. Any effort for a Trump dollar before 2027 would need to overcome this decades-old precedent, either through a legislative amendment to the 2005 act or via a separate, non-circulating commemorative coin authorization, which also typically honors subjects deceased for at least two years.

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