Where the loophole actually is
The 1866 Thayer Amendment is the foundational statute discussed in our 1866 Law article. Its text prohibits the use of the image of any living person on "the bonds, securities, notes, or postal currency of the United States." Britannica's analysis flags the issue plainly: the amendment "specifically prohibited living people from appearing on 'bonds, securities, notes, or postal currency'; it says nothing about coins."
Note what's in that list and what isn't. Bonds: covered. Securities: covered. Notes (paper currency like the $250 bill): covered. Postal currency: covered. Coins: not mentioned.
Whether by oversight or intent in 1866, Congress wrote a statute that addressed the specific problem of the moment — Treasury official Spencer Clark printing his face on a 5-cent note — without addressing coins broadly.
Why this matters now
In 2026, the Trump administration is pursuing three Trump-themed currency objects:
The $250 bill. Paper note — clearly covered by the 1866 statute. Requires H.R.1761 to pass.
The $1 commemorative coin. Coin — arguably outside the 1866 statute. Treasury is asserting authority under the 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act.
The commemorative gold coin. Coin — same loophole analysis. Treasury is asserting authority under Bessent's direct authority.
Treasury's legal position is that the 1866 prohibition does not extend to coins. The two coin projects are therefore being treated as administratively achievable without new legislation.
The 2005 attempted fix
Congress noticed the gap. The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 — which created the Presidential $1 coin series — included specific language: "No coin issued…may bear the image of a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President."
This was a partial fix. It applied specifically to the Presidential $1 coin series, not all coins. It did not retroactively close the loophole for other coin programs.
The 2020 Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act — which is the law Treasury cites for the $1 commemorative coin — added similar but narrower language: it prohibits portraits of living persons on the reverse of semiquincentennial coins. That language is why the candidate $1 coin design now has Trump on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse.
The Coolidge precedent
There is one direct historical precedent for a sitting president appearing on U.S. coinage. As CoinWeek's analysis details: Calvin Coolidge appeared alongside George Washington on the 1926 Sesquicentennial half dollar, struck to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
That coin is the only example of a sitting U.S. president on circulating U.S. currency. It predates the 2005 fix. It happened only because the 1866 statute was silent on coins. See our dedicated Coolidge precedent article for the full background.
The interpretive dispute
Critics — including Commissioner Donald Scarinci of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee — have argued that even if the 1866 statute is silent on coins, the spirit of American currency law is to avoid "the appearance of a monarchy," and Treasury should treat coins as covered by the same principle even without explicit statutory language.
Treasury's position is that statutes mean what they say, not what their spirit might imply. As of June 2026, no court has ruled on the question.
How H.R.1761 changes nothing for the coins
Worth noting: if H.R.1761 passes and amends 31 U.S.C. § 5114 to permit former/current Presidents on currency, it explicitly addresses paper currency. The amendment's language doesn't need to address coins — they're already not covered by the prohibition being amended.
In other words: H.R.1761 unlocks the $250 bill. The coins are pursuing a parallel path that doesn't depend on H.R.1761 at all.