U.S. President Donald Trump’s brand-new gold-colored $1 coin is selling at $61 per 25-coin roll or $154.50 per 100-coin bag as a record rush of buyers overwhelmed its website and left customers stuck in massive virtual queues.
The Treasury Department made the coin available on Wednesday as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.
A portrait of Trump’s face is featured on the front of the coin with the inscriptions ‘Liberty,’ ‘In God We Trust’, and ‘1776 ~ 2026.’
Despite not being released into general circulation, the Philadelphia-minted coins are legal tender and can be spent like any other US currency.
The government is selling the coin in collector bundles of 25 or 100 per bag, ranging from $61 to $154.
Each coin is priced at a markup of more than 50 percent above their actual value.
Online shoppers are being forced to wait upwards of an hour to even access the US mint’s webpage in order to purchase the coins.
The coin’s release hands Trump a symbolic victory after his administration pushed to place his likeness on US money.
His policy breaks with a centuries-old tradition against featuring living figures on American currency. Treasury officials defended the move under the 2020 Semiquincentennial coinage authorization.
Despite their gold appearance, the coins contain no gold and are made mostly of copper, along with nickel and manganese.
Back in May, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent proposed a $250 banknote bearing Trump’s portrait and signature, but the legislation authorizing it remains stuck in Congress.
