I’m admittedly not an oenophile (big wine connoisseur). Even so, I couldn’t help noticing a bottle of 1945 French burgundy wine sold at auction last week for just over $812,000 – a world record. Given there are only five or six glasses in a bottle, that comes to around $150,000 per glass. So, what is it per-sip…$12,000?
If given the chance, I’d be a pedestrian neophyte sure to fail a taste-test between that wine and one off the shelf at, say, Walgreens. That’s okay. Some people are wine obsessed. As a collector, I understand that. What I don’t get is, in the end, what good is it? The wine rarity is in the product to be imbibed. Once it’s opened and consumed it’s gone. The empty bottle isn’t worth much.
I naturally appreciate the rarity and beauty of vintage numismatic pieces – particularly US coins from the 1700s. With those, it’s entirely possible some might have passed through the hands of Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington....
Each man is a luminary in US history. Their achievements are legendary. All of them, most notably Washington, also had humility. As Franklin once said, “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”
For the past few months, our 2026 Semiquincentennial has gotten into full swing. Succeeding for 250 years as the world’s longest existing and sustained democracy is worthy of a toast from any bottle. For the celebration, some circulating coins are being struck with images of colonial soldiers or New England buildings and events on which the country was established.
An exception appeared a few months ago when the US Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), proposed several coins all bearing portraits of President Donald Trump. One garishly had his image on both the front and back. Curiously, the advisory board of the CFA was all handpicked by President Trump. Defending their proposal was Chamberlain Harris, one of the committee members and a director of Oval Office operations. He brazenly stated, “It’s fitting to have a current sitting president who’s presiding over the 250th year on a commemorative coin for said year.”
No. It’s not.
A great argument against that was made some 250 years ago by George Washington himself. After Washington’s Revolutionary War victory, it was proposed Washington’s portrait appear on US coinage. Washington categorically refused. He vehemently demanded why a nation that had just fought to be free of a monarchy would emulate it by putting a current president on its money.
There’s something else. President Trump has also proposed his signature now appear on US paper money. That has forever been the domain of the Secretary of the Treasury and Treasurer of the United States. An exception would be our earliest colonial currency which contained actual signatures of some statesmen. Those hand-signed signatures on EVERY bill helped thwart counterfeiting.
As with other anniversary events, the gold and silver Trump coins in question are not meant to be circulating pieces but silver and gold commemoratives created for collectors. So, how do the potential buyers/collectors feel? According to numismatic hobby publications, the pushback is robust. Sentiments against having the president’s portrait on the coins is abundant.
What of the general public? Regarding the president’s signature on currency, a “YouGov” poll of almost 19,000 Americans on March 30, reported close to 60 percent either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the inclusion.
All this pushback has nothing to do with politics. It has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats. And, it has nothing to do with MAGA or Woke. It’s just become embarrassing to witness the cavalcade of proposals for having President Trump’s name, signature or image on everything including our nation’s most significant anniversary. After all, no single person can possibly assume credit.
What of the thousands of lowly colonial militia who fought and died? What of our initial makeshift Navy? How about the early statesmen who signed their own death warrant by signing the Declaration? What of the women who secretly met to make gunpowder, uniforms and flags? All are valid options.
A lawsuit was recently filed to stop the manufacture of coins with the president’s image. Can it stop or change anything? Lawsuits are filed every day. One was even just filed against the East Wing demolition of the White House. No telling how those will turn out.
Admittedly, we’re also already a third of the way into 2026. Surely, the dies for the coins and plates for the currency have been made. Can any of this be reversed? A Revolution 250 years ago suggests it’s entirely possible.
For now, collectors and just plain, everyday folks who use coins and currency, may want to pour a hearty glass of whatever wine’s available and hope.
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