When a Medal Isn’t a Coin
Public reaction to a recently released Trump commemorative highlights a longstanding challenge for numismatics: helping people understand the difference between coins, medals, and legal tender.
You don’t have to be an advanced coin collector to know the difference between a medal and a coin. Unfortunately, it appears the public hasn’t gotten that message. A medal featuring President Donald J. Trump that was issued to celebrate his 80th birthday was recently released by Trump Coins. The commemorative is licensed in partnership with the Trump Organization; their issues are also meant to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. There are gold and silver versions of this medal available; however, the $12,000 price tag on the gold-composition piece has raised eyebrows politically as well as financially.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s recent joke, in which he quipped, “It takes a special kind of con man to sell your supporters money they cannot spend any place,” without intending to have brought forward exactly what the non-collecting public doesn’t understand. These are medals, not legal tender coins. They are not the first medallions to be confused with legal tender coinage, and they likely won’t be the last.
Some secondary market advertising may refer incorrectly to these items as coins. It’s happened before. The concern shouldn’t be that people may be paying too much. The price for these medallions is determined by the seller and the potential buyer. Investors need to determine for themselves if this is a product worth purchasing. The concern for readers should be that the general public’s perception of these medals may once again be negative towards coin collecting in general. The answer, as always, is to educate the public.
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