Trump Administration scraps plans to feature Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, and suffragettes on U.S. 250th anniversary commemorative coins

As America’s 250th anniversary commemorative coins begin to circulate, outrage grows over who has been left out.

The commemorative coins minted to mark America’s 250th anniversary have officially begun circulating—but large swaths of the nation’s history failed to make the cut.

Just weeks before the release, it became clear the Trump administration had scrapped plans to honor figures like Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, and a World War I–era suffragist holding a “Votes for Women” flag. The reversal, revealed at an unveiling ceremony in Philadelphia, replaced symbols of progress with what has been deemed safer and more “traditional”—an intentional retreat from any history that complicates a sanitized version of America, according to The New York Times.

What remains is a narrow vision of patriotism: George Washington, representing the Revolutionary War and the nation’s founding; Thomas Jefferson, representing the Declaration of Independence; Abraham Lincoln, representing the Civil War and the Gettysburg Address; James Madison, representing the U.S. Constitution and the framework of American government; and an idealized Pilgrim couple representing the Mayflower Compact and early colonial self-governance—frozen in a mythic past.

You can expect to find the imagery celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial on quarters, dimes, and half dollars minted in 2026. 

Asked about the shift, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach told Fox News that while the Biden administration emphasized diversity, “the Trump administration is dedicated to fostering prosperity and patriotism.” 

The brazen symbolism doesn’t stop there. According to The Washington Post, the administration has discussed minting a separate $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump himself—fist raised, stamped with the words “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!” The proposal would shatter long-standing American precedent.

From the beginning, U.S. leaders understood the danger of confusing democracy with monarchy. Washington rejected placing his likeness on currency, wary of echoing the English kingship the Revolution rejected. That warning feels especially pointed now, as coins meant to honor the Declaration of Independence are floated as vehicles for honoring a living president.

Democratic senators have condemned the idea as “un-American,” introducing legislation to bar “the likeness of a living or sitting president” from appearing on U.S. currency. The move aligns with the administration’s reported collaboration with PragerU, a group increasingly shaping conservative historical narratives in public spaces.

None of this is surprising. Since taking office at the top of 2024, this administration has consistently shown hostility toward any diversity, equity, and inclusion and just about any history that challenges its preferred version of America—especially post–Civil War struggles for equality. Taken together, experts and historians warn that this is an effort not just to commemorate the past, but to rewrite it.