A retired Oregon lawyer has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the US Mint from producing a commemorative gold coin bearing President Donald Trump’s likeness, arguing that a statute barring living figures from US currency — on the books since 1866 — makes the plan flatly illegal.
James Rickher, a former federal employee and coin collector, filed the pro se complaint at the US District Court in Oregon on March 24, naming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and acting US Mint design chief Megan Sullivan as defendants.
The legal basis is Title 31 US Code Section 5114, a provision Congress first enacted in 1866 that restricts currency portraits exclusively to deceased individuals. Rickher says there is no room for interpretation. “It’s black and white. It’s very straightforward. It’s very clear that it’s prohibited,” he said.
Trump personally selected the design after Treasury Secretary Bessent presented options, according to the lawsuit. The final image — a 24-karat gold coin using an official White House photograph — cleared the US Commission of Fine Arts on March 20 by unanimous vote. Trump had previously dismissed the commission’s former members and replaced them entirely with his own appointees. The administration has positioned the coin as a tribute to the nation’s 250th anniversary, set for July 4, 2026.
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Federal officials contend a subsection of the law grants the Treasury Secretary discretionary authority over coin designs, including commemorative issues. Rickher disputes that reading. “He can’t override the statute. There’s no exemption within his discretion to allow that to happen,” he said.
The administration may further contend the coin is exempt because it functions as a collectible — a limited-edition gold piece priced above face value and never meant to enter everyday circulation. Rickher’s lawsuit rejected that argument, calling it inconsistent with the plain language of the statute.
The filing points to the only known precedent: a 1926 coin featuring President Calvin Coolidge, which drew immediate backlash and which officials largely withdrew from circulation. Rickher argues the episode provides no legal cover for the current plan, noting that no congressional authorization from that instance carries forward.
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a bipartisan panel that typically reviews new coin designs, declined to evaluate the Trump coin proposal, citing concerns that placing a sitting president on currency would contradict established democratic tradition and potentially violate federal law.
Rickher expects a federal court hearing within weeks. “I see a violation there and I don’t think they should get away with it,” he said.
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