No Olive Branch? Inside the 2026 Dime Design Debate
Criticism over the Semiquincentennial dime’s missing olive branch is gaining traction—but the historical record shows the symbol of peace was never part of the design to begin with.
The 2026 Semiquincentennial dime has recently come under fire with the general public after some popular news sites ran a story pointing out the lack of an olive branch in the eagle’s talons on the reverse.
The American Eagle has famously held both arrows and an olive branch, symbolizing the balance between war and peace. Now, with the absence of the sign of peace, people are concerned about how this bodes in the face of recent conflicts.
What many news sites are implying is that the current administration removed the olive branch from the design, but what seems to be little known is that the olive branch was never there to be removed in the first place. While these coins were unveiled in 2025, the design process began long before that.
Public Law 116-330, also known as the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act, authorized the redesign and issue of coins to commemorate the Semiquincentennial. This law was signed in 2021 and took many years to get to the point of discussing the designs for 2026.
The Citizens’ Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) met from October 15-16, 2024, to discuss new Semiquincentennial coins, including five quarter designs, a dime, and a half-dollar.
In this meeting, April Stafford, Chief of the Office of Design Management, presented the portfolio to the committee members, describing the dime’s theme and design elements. She stated that the “2026 dime’s theme is Liberty Over Tyranny and explores our revolutionary era that set the stage for the next 250 years of American history.” Stafford continues stating, “Reverse designs are emblematic of the spirit that embodied America’s bold quest for liberty.”
The design in question was labeled as reverse 3 and 3A. The primary difference between the two is the inclusion of the inscription “LIBERTY OVER TYRANNY” under the denomination on reverse design 3A.
Stafford described these reverses to the CCAC as “Reverses 3 and 3A portray an eagle in flight carrying arrows in its talons, representing of the American Revolution and the colonists' fight for independence.”
Later, as the committee members took turns discussing their preferences for both the obverse and reverse designs, one member commented that “it is worth remembering that … the most valuable thing to commemorate … in 2026 is 1776 itself, the active revolution before overthrowing the monarchy…”
Another committee member stated, “The expression liberty over tyranny, we felt very strongly that having that included on the dime is really what helps it resonate with the America 250 theme and being very deliberate to help people recognize what it was in 1776 that made what the American experiment meant to the world.”
Ultimately, the reverse design 3A was the highest-scoring reverse design for the dime and was recommended to the Secretary of the Treasury in a letter dated October 22, 2024. Most notably, the dates of the CCAC meeting, as well as their recommendation to the Secretary of the Treasury, occurred before the 2024 election.
Whether the Mint will add the symbol of peace back to the dime in light of recent criticism remains to be seen.
Portfolios for the different designs for the 2026 Semiquincentennial coins can be found at ccac.gov, along with transcripts from the public discussion meetings.
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