Will Trump's face appear on a coin? What we know about 2 Trump coins.

Two similar, but very different, coins that may feature the likeness of PresidentDonald Trumpare getting closer to reality amid swirling controversy.

One would be a huge, gold collector's item. The other would be a controversial and temporary addition to circulating currency, meant to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday.

A U.S. Treasury Department advisory board on March 19 announced thedesign for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin for the nation's 250th anniversary(semiquincentennial). It features a portrait of Trump, a move that opponents say bucks tradition.

A separate $1 coin with Trump's face on it could go into circulation, also as part of the semiquincentennial.

The coins, if they are produced, would be the latest push by Trump and his allies tofeature his name and likeness on items and buildings of significance, from national park passes and banners to the renamedTrump-Kennedy Center for the Arts.

Here is what we know about the two coins and the controversy they have stoked:

One last press for the penny: U.S. Mint turns currency into collector's treasure

Will there be a Trump coin in circulation?

The 24-karat gold commemorative coin would be a collector's item and wouldn't enter circulation. The $1 coin could go into circulation as legal tender.

The $1 coin'sdesign was voted on by the Commission of Fine Arts in January.

The coins haven't been produced or released yet, and they are facing opposition, especially the $1 coin. Opponents argue there are legal issues at play for any coin used as currency that features a living person.

More coin controversy:A symbol of peace was cut from US dimes. Is it a message from Trump?

What do the Trump coins look like?

The planned design for the gold commemorative coin features a portrait of Trump with his fists pressed into the Resolute Desk, a photo taken by the chief White House photographer and on display at the National Portrait Gallery. The president approved the design, according to Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the mint's Office of Design Management.

"It's a very strong, very tough image of him," said Chamberlain Harris, a member of the Commission of Fine Arts.

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The gold coin would have the word "LIBERTY" and 1776-2026 on its face. The Commission of Fine Arts recommended it be 3 inches in diameter, the largest size the U.S. Mint can create.

The $1 coin's design would feature a side profile image of Trump, also with the word "LIBERTY" and the dates 1776-2026.

How much will the gold Trump coin cost?

The Treasury Department hasn't said how much the gold commemorative coin would cost, but other collectible coins for sale from the department go for as much as thousands of dollars.

Why are the coins controversial?

The $1 Trump coin that could potentially be produced is causing more controversy than the commemorative coin. But both coins face pushback for breaking with longstanding coin-producing norms about who should appear on a coin.

Several Democratic members of Congress argued in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the Trump $1 coin violates an 1886 law requiring "only the portrait of a deceased individual" appear on currency and securities.

The administration has said a 2020 law authorizing the creation of special 2026 coins gives the U.S. Mint the ability to make the $1 coin featuring Trump.

George Washington argued it was "monarchical" to have his image on currency during his lifetime.

Only one president has been featured on a coin when he was alive: Calvin Coolidge, on a 1926 half-dollar, pictured alongside Washington for the nation's 150th anniversary. That coin was not popular, and most pieces were eventually melted.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which was established in 2003 to advise the treasury secretary on coin themes and designs, notably did not approve designs for either Trump coin. The committee is separate from the Commission of Fine Arts, which was hand-selected by Trump.

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee has refused to review the coins, arguing they go against the nation's founding principles. Donald Scarinci, chair of the advisory committee, described the two proposals "as abhorrent to the Declaration of Independence" and said it was a "huge irony" to celebrate the country's break from the British monarchy with coins of the president. Scarinci said such a coin would send the message that the sitting president is a king.

The advisory committee also did not approve the designs for thecommemorative quarters that were introduced as part of the semiquincentennial. That committee approved a set of different designs, which included images related to the abolition of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement and women's suffrage. Those were nixed by Bessent.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Will Trump's face appear on a coin? The controversial plan explained.

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March 22, 2026

Will Trump's face appear on a coin? What we know about 2 Trump coins.

Two similar, but very different, coins that may feature the likeness of PresidentDonald Trumpare getting closer to reali...

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Trump touted bigger tax refunds this year, but Americans will likely spend them on gas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy was supposed to start the year witha bang, fueled by an unusually large jump in tax refunds from President Donald Trump's tax cut legislation. Yet spiking gas prices are on track to eat up those refunds, leaving most Americans with little extra to spend.

"Next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time," Trump said in a prime-time speechin Decemberthat was intended to address voters' concerns about the economy and stubbornly high prices.

But that was before theIran war, which began Feb. 28. Oil and gas priceshave soaredsince then, with the nationwide average price of gas reaching $3.94 Sunday, up more than a dollar from just a month earlier.

Gas prices are likely to remain elevated for some time, even if the war ends soon, because shipping and production have been disrupted and will take time to recover. Economists now expect slower growth this spring and for the year as a whole, as dollars that are spent on gas are less likely to be used for restaurant meals, new clothes, or entertainment.

Lower and middle-income households are likely to be hit particularly hard, because they receive lower refunds, while spending a greater proportion of their earnings on gas.

"The energy shock is to going to hit those who have the least cushion," said Alex Jacquez, chief of policy at the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative and a former economist in the Biden White House. "And it doesn't look like those tax refunds are going to be here to save them."

Neale Mahoney, director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, calculates that gas prices could peak in May at $4.36 a gallon, based on oil price forecasts by Goldman Sachs, followed by slow declines for the rest of the year. The notion that gas prices decline much more slowly than they rise is so ingrained among economists that they refer to it as the "rocket and feathers" phenomenon.

In that scenario, the average household would pay $740 more in gas this year, nearly equal to the $748 increase in refunds that the Tax Foundation has estimated the average household will receive.

Through March 6, refunds have risen by much less than that, according toIRS data: They have averaged $3,676, up $352 from $3,324 in 2025. Still, average refunds could rise as more complex returns are filed.

Other estimates show similar impacts. Economists at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm, estimate that if gas prices average $3.70 a gallon all year, it will cost consumers about $70 billion — more than the $60 billion in increased tax refunds.

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The gas price spike comes with many consumers already in a precarious position, particularly compared to 2022, when gas prices also soared because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At that time, many households still had fattened bank accounts from pandemic-era stimulus payments and companies were hiring rapidly and sharply lifting pay to attract workers.

Now, hiringis nearly at a standstilland Americans' saving rate has steadily fallen in the past few years as many households borrow more to sustain their spending.

"When you start looking across the perspective from a consumer side, you're seeing people who have maxed out their credit cards, are using 'buy now, pay later' to purchase their groceries," said Julie Margetta Morgan, president of The Century Foundation, a think tank. "They're making it work for now, but that can fall apart quite quickly."

The impact will likely worsen the"K-shaped" narrative around the U.S. economy, analysts said, in which higher income households have fared better than lower-income households. The bottom 10% of earners spend nearly 4% of their incomes on gasoline, Pantheon Macroeconomics estimates, while the top 10% spend just 1.5%.

For now, most analysts still expect the U.S. economy to expand this year, even if more slowly, given the gas price shock. Higher gas prices will likely worsen inflation in the short run, but over time weaker spending will also slow growth.

American consumers and businesses have repeatedly shaken off shocks since the pandemic — soaring inflation, rising interest rates, tariffs — and continued to spend, defying concerns that the economy would tip into recession. Many economists note that the proportion of their incomes that Americans spend on gas and other energy has fallen significantly compared with a decade ago.

Data from the Bank of America Institute, released Friday, showed that spending on gas on the bank's credit and debit cards shot 14.4% higher in the week ended March 14 compared with a year ago. Before the war, such spending was running 5% below the previous year, a benefit to consumers.

Spending on discretionary items — restaurant meals, electronics, and travel — is still growing, the institute said, evidence of consumer resilience. But there is little sign it is accelerating, as many economists had hoped.

"The longer these gasoline prices persist, the more that will gradually sap consumer discretionary spending," said David Tinsley, senior economist at the institute.

Other analysts expect growth will slow because of the war. Bernard Yaros and Michael Pearce, economists at Oxford Economics, forecast that the U.S. economy will grow just 1.9% this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.5%.

"We had anticipated a lift in spending from a bumper tax refund season," they wrote, "but the rise in gasoline prices, if sustained, would more than offset that boost."

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March 22, 2026

Trump touted bigger tax refunds this year, but Americans will likely spend them on gas

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy was supposed to start the year witha bang, fueled by an unusually large jump in tax r...

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Uncut Names John Lennon’s ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ as Best Song of All Time

John Lennonis famous for many reasons. His songwriting genius, his activism, his enduring cultural impact. But his rise to fame withThe Beatlesis the foundation on which everything was built.

In1956, Lennon founded theQuarrymen, described as a skiffle group. Four years later, the band composed ofLennon,Paul McCartney,George Harrison, andRingo Starr, solidified their core, changed their name, and never looked back.

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With Harrison contributing to theFab Four's songwriting further into their meteoric career, and two songs coming from Starr, most of the writing was shared by Lennon and McCartney. But for our purposes here, we're focused on the masterworks that sprung from the heart, mind, and soul of the bespectacled, shaggy-haired rock pioneer.

In a recent roundup published byUncut, the team, includingPaul Weller, guitarist and principal singer and songwriter ofThe Jam, picked30songs from themusiclegend's discography, and the results range from "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," "Dear Prudence," and "Across the Universe," to "Revolution," "Imagine," and "Give Peace a Chance."

In a foreword, written by Lennon's wife, Japanese artistYoko Ono, Ono shares a peek into Lennon's writing style.

"He wasn't one of those writers who'd write from 10 until 12 in the morning," she said. "He used to think of an idea when we were in a plane or something. He just writes it down. And at the time he writes it down, he's already got the melody."

The songs of Lennon cover a vast emotional scope, with tracks spanning raw rock and introspective drama, razor-sharp commentary and biting wit. His hits could be moody, angry, playful, and dreamy all in the same era.

"John didn't have a narrow talent," Ono writes. "He had all the different emotions he was able to express in his songs. If you want to analyze it, his mum wasn't around, and his dad wasn't around, and he wanted someone to listen to him when he was a little boy."

Listen we did. And listen we still do.

John Lennon's Best Song of All Time

At the top of the list:"Strawberry Fields Forever."

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According to the magazine, the track was written inSpain, while Lennon was filmingRichard Leser'sHow I Won the War.Released inFebruary 1967, the song peaked atNo. 2on theU.K.chart andNo. 8in theU.S., perBillboard. No one needs a chart to tell them how good "Strawberry Fields Forever" is though.

"[This] is my all time favorite," Weller says. "I can still remember when I first heard it on the radio; I was only 9 at the time. I didn't know anything about drugs or psychedelia, I just knew it was a great, great tune."

He adds, "Technically, the production on 'Strawberry Fields' is phenomenal. … For me, it's the first psychedelic record. People talk about "See My Friends" by The Kinks, but "Strawberry Fields" is far more experimental. George Martin did a brilliant job editing together the two different sections; the key change in the middle is amazing. I still always return to it. It's one of those tracks where you still hear something new every time you hear it, it's got so many textures. For me it's still unsurpassed."

Fans of the song know that the title refers to a real place,Liverpool's Strawberry Field, aSalvation Armysite where Lennon played during his childhood,SPINmagazine shares. But fans might be surprised by the story behind the story.

The Story Behind the Song

InDavid Sheff'sThe Playboy Interviews With John Lennon & Yoko Ono, viaSalon, Lennon reveals that there were two famous houses located near his childhood home, nicknamed theMendips, where he lived for15years with hisAunt Mimi.

"One was owned byGladstone: a reformatory for boys, which I could see out my window," Lennon says, "andStrawberry Field, just around the corner from that, [which was] an oldVictorianhouse converted forSalvation Armyorphans."

A mansion built in1870, Strawberry Field was turned into a home for girls in1936by the Salvation Army. And even though many believe it's that orphanage that inspired the song, Salon reports that it was actually the Gladstone mansion, or "the bad boys' borstal" that housed young offenders, that serves as its inspiration.

For proof, the outlet points to Sheff's book, which shares Lennon saying, "My influences are tremendous, fromLewis CarrolltoOscar Wildeto tough little kids that used to live near me who ended up in prison and things like that."

It can be misleading, but as far as research goes, the song gets its dreamy, rose-colored title from the orphanage down the street, but the lyrics were born from the somber narrative of Lennon's hardships growing up in Liverpool.

The 'Ultimate Rock Star'

In2018,Forbesdeclared Lennon the "Ultimate Rock Star," writing, "It's the courage and the way he followed his own path that defines Lennon's stature as the ultimate rock star."

It's that relentless pursuit of voice and authenticity that still resonates in every corner of modern music, from the biggest stages to the hazieststrawberryfields.

Related: 1966 Hit Named Best Song From 'One of the Most Influential Bands' of All Time

This story was originally published byParadeon Mar 22, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.

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March 22, 2026

Uncut Names John Lennon’s ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ as Best Song of All Time

John Lennonis famous for many reasons. His songwriting genius, his activism, his enduring cultural impact. But his rise ...

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NYT Connections Sports Edition Today: Hints and Answers for Sunday, March 22, 2026

Get excited—there's another New York Times game to add to your daily routine! Those of us word game addicts who already playWordle,Connections,Strandsand theMini Crosswordnow haveConnections Sports Editionto add to the mix.So, if you're looking for some hints and answers for today's Connections Sports Edition onSunday, March 22, 2026, you've come to the right place.

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What Is Connections Sports Edition?

Connections Sports Edition is just like the regular Connections word puzzle, in that it's a game that resets at 12 a.m. EST each day and has 16 different words listed. It's up to you to figure out each group of four words that belong to a certain category, with four categories in total.

This new version is sports-specific, however, as a partnership between The New York Times and The Athletic.

As the NYT site instructs, for Connections Sports Edition, you "group sports terms that share a common thread."

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Related:The 26 Funniest NYT Connections Game Memes You'll Appreciate if You Do This Daily Word Puzzle

Hints for Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories on March 22, 2026

Here are some hints about the four categories to help you figure out the word groupings.

• Yellow: Same-same.

• Green: Otto, Anna.

• Blue: He ain't heavy...

• Purple: The DMZ is one.

Here Are Today's Connections Sports Edition Categories

OK, time for a second hint…we'll give you the actual categories now. Spoilers below!

• Yellow: ALL SQUARE

• Green: PALINDROMES

• Blue: NBA BROTHERS, PAST AND PRESENT

• Purple: ____ ZONE

If you're looking for the answers, no worries—we've got them below. So, don't scroll any further if you don't want to see the solutions!The answers to today'sConnections Sports Edition #545are coming up next.Related:15 Fun Games Like Connections to Play Every Day

What Are the Answers to Connections Sports Edition Today?

• ALL SQUARE: DEADLOCKED, EVEN, LEVEL, TIED

• PALINDROMES: KAYAK, POP, RADAR, STATS

• NBA BROTHERS, PAST AND PRESENT: ANTETOKOUNMPO, BALL, CURRY, GASOL

• ____ ZONE: 2-3, NEUTRAL, RED, STRIKE

Don't worry if you didn't get them this time—we've all been there.

Up next,catch up on the answers to recent Wordle puzzles.

Related: Coffee Lovers Cereal-ously 'Can't Wait' for This Limited-Edition Pebbles Collab

This story was originally published byParadeon Mar 22, 2026, where it first appeared in theLifesection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.

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NYT Connections Sports Edition Today: Hints and Answers for Sunday, March 22, 2026

Get excited—there's another New York Times game to add to your daily routine! Those of us word game addicts who alre...

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The media may have unmasked Banksy — again. That's angered some art fans but not ruffled dealers

LONDON (AP) — Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not in being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous.

Banksy Unmasked

The mystery of his identity has long been part of the value of his art, which for decades and across continents defied authority from public walls and self-shredded on the auction block. Now, Banksy'sapparent unmasking by the Reuters news agencyhas generated talk about whether the works themselves retain their cultural and financial value.

It also raises the question: Why pop the red balloon of his mystique in the first place? Many Banksy fans mourned the loss of the mystery and lashed out at the news outlet. One said it was like being told without warning that Santa Claus doesn't exist.

"I feel like they are telling me how a magic trick is done," said Thomas Evans, a Denver-based artist on Instagram. "Sometimes I just want to enjoy the magic trick."

But some art experts say the murals and the message will survive Banksy's naming because his appeal wasn't driven solely by his anonymity. He and his works — mischievous and also dark — stand as witnesses to injustice, oppression and inequality around the world, from the artist's native England towalled-off Bethlehemand war-ravaged Ukraine. Subtract his anonymity, they say, and the work still inspires reflection and discussion.

"People buy his works because they absolutely love it," said Acoris Andipa, director of the Andipa gallery in London. "The main feedback that I get is that they really, frankly, don't care if they know who he is."

Naming the ghost — and the backlash — is engagement, too

Banksy, long thought to have been born Robin Gunningham around 1972, grew out of a tradition of street artists who viewed the undercover act of posting their art in public as a subversive form of expression. The postindustrial landscape of his native Bristol was his canvas and gallery. The walls of London, New York and elsewhere gave him a global stage just before the rise of social media.

Banksy's apparent identity has been an open secret among protective fellow artists, and long been easy to find online for those who wanted to know.The Daily Mail reportedin 2008 "compelling evidence suggesting" that was the artist's birth name. It has been published by other news outlets, including byThe Associated Press in 2016, as part of their coverage of the detective work.

Reuters reported last week that after The Daily Mail's story, Banksy changed his legal name to David Jones — the second most-popular name in Britain. It's also the given name of another rock star, the late David Bowie, whose Ziggy Stardust avatar inspired a 2012 Banksy painting of Queen Elizabeth II.

Bansky's lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment, and the artist's spokeswoman declined to participate in this story.

Reuters pieced together that a David Jones traveled to Ukraine with a well-known associate of Banksy's in late 2022 — just before the artist's work began appearing on buildings that had been bombed by Russia. Banksylater confirmedthat he'd created seven murals in the war zone, includingone of a childflipping over a grown man who is wearing a black belt. Russian President Vladimir Putin practices judo.

There's evidence that even some in the establishment he was protesting have accepted Banksy. They didn't arrest him, for example, after the Royal Courts of Justiceremoved a Banksy stencildepicting a judge in a traditional wig and gown beating an unarmed protester with a gavel. Some street artists groused that they might be arrested for creating such graffiti — but when it's a Banksy, it's art.

Robin Gunningham wasn't always so elusive

On Sept. 17, 2000, a Robin Gunningham was arrested for defacing a Marc Jacobs billboard atop a building on Hudson Street in New York.

In a handwritten signed confession, he described the work on the night in question: "I had been out drinking at a nightclub with friends when I decided to make a humorous adjustment to a billboard on top of the property," he wrote in court records unearthed by Reuters and confirmed by the AP. "I painted eyeshadow a new mouth and a speach(sic) bubble" on the photo of a male model. He was charged with a misdemeanor.

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The artist doesn't need an alleged naming to make news. He createdmultiple worksjust inLondon in 2025, andgrabbed headlines elsewherefor havinghis art soldorauctioned for millions. But Banksy has courted a public image centered around morality, justice and guerrilla tactics — he's often likened to Robin Hood or Batman.

"Banksy woz ere," he wrote with his animal murals at the London Zoo, which wereremoved in 2024.

Still, along with the sadness, there's ample speculation in the art world and on social media that the artist himself orchestrated this round of naming. He didn't deny the Reuters story.

That "would be very much in line with his practice of stunts and satire," observed Madeleine White, the senior sales and acquisitions consultant at London's Hang-Up Gallery, "As they say, 'all publicity is good publicity.'"

She noted, however, that the backlash is directed at the media — not the artist, or the potency of his work. Reuters says it opted to publish some, but not all, of the information its reporters uncovered about Banksy's identity, because he is a public figure, whatever his name — and he's had an outsized influence on public events and discourse. What's more, much of his work has been done on other people's property.

Banksy's star power is about far more than anonymity

Named or not, Banksy's stardom lives, art experts say.

It endures in the wonder of his ability to erect new art under the noses of authorities well into the age of closed-circuit television and social media. It appeals because his spectacle and wit draw people in and the settings — the hulk of bombed buildings, for example, or Israel's towering wall at the border of the West Bank — invite them to reflect. Now, fans are on the lookout for how and whether he'll respond to the news of Robin Gunningham and David Jones.

Joe Syer, a Banksy expert and founder of MyArtBroker, said that the artist has always responded to world events. "And that's where the real relevance, and value, sits."

"If anything, Banksy's anonymity has functioned less as a celebrity device and more as a way to keep the work universally accessible, detached from personality, ego, or biography," he said in an email. "It allows the work to sit in public space, politically and culturally, without being anchored to an individual in the way the mainstream press often frames it."

Christopher Banks, founder of the New York-based Objects of Affection Collection, reads Banksy's naming "not as a biographical event, but as a structural stress test" of the artist's system of managing his absence.

"Banksy's best works carry their meaning without the author. He was there," Banks wrote, citing the artist's murals in Ukraine and his solidarity with the war's victims.

"The name matters less than the presence. The presence was always what the work was about."

Michael Sisak contributed to this report from New York.

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March 22, 2026

The media may have unmasked Banksy — again. That's angered some art fans but not ruffled dealers

LONDON (AP) — Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not in being ...

Read More