Trump's Mint is literally quartering soldiers for America's 250th anniversary
Plus: Arial used to be a mandated font in this state, but a new bipartisan bill changed that
The U.S. Mint under President Donald Trump has changed course for next year’s Semiquincentennial coins.
Congress approved commemorative coins to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. in 2026, and under former President Joe Biden’s administration, the Mint proposed designs including commemorations of Abolition, Women’s Suffrage, and Civil Rights along with coins for the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
But last week, the Mint rolled out new designs that focus instead more on the Founding and don’t go past Abraham Lincoln.
The “Mayflower Compact Quarter” shows a Pilgrim couple on one side and the Mayflower on the other. Late Show host Stephen Colbert joked about the design of the “Revolutionary War Quarter” in a monologue, saying the scowling George Washington shows America’s first president “the moment they told him he was going to be on a park pass with Trump,” and Colbert added jokingly that the tails side depicting a soldier is unconstitutional.
“No you fools, the Third Amendment of the Constitution is clear: We shall quarter no soldiers,” Colbert said. Ba-dum ching.
Other 25 cent coins announced by the Mint include a “Declaration of Independence Quarter” showing Thomas Jefferson and the Liberty Bell, a “Constitution Quarter” showing James Madison with Independence Hall and the words “We The People,” and a “Gettysburg Address Quarter” showing Lincoln and hands clasped together under the text “A New Nation Conceived in Liberty” from Lincoln’s 1863 speech at the Civil War battlefield.
Under the Biden administration, the Mint and a citizens advisory committee proposed quarter designs depicting abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a suffragette demonstrating with a “Votes for Women” sign, and Ruby Bridges, the school girl who was escorted to class in 1960 when her New Orleans school district desegregated.
The Biden administration’s Mint’s designs tell a story of expanding civil and voting rights well into the 20th century. The Trump administration's Mint’s designs tell a story that ends a century earlier, with the Gettysburg Address from our Civil War president who was first elected in 1860, or 100 years before Brigdes’ school was integrated.
Critics of the Biden Mint’s designs might call them woke while critics of the Trump Mint’s designs might say they’re incomplete. The heart of the matter is dueling views of U.S. history on the eve of her big birthday year.
Beyond the anniversary Quarter redesigns, the Mint also announced other commemorative coins for next year, including an Emerging Liberty Dime (above) showing Liberty in a cap and an eagle with arrows in its talons for war but no olive branches for peace.
The 1776 - 2026 Nickel depicts Jefferson and the Jefferson Monument, the Enduring Liberty Dollar depicts the Statue of Liberty and a passing of the torch. And the recently ended Penny is making a limited-time comeback. A collectible 1776 - 2026 Penny revives the old design showing Lincoln.
“The designs on these historic coins depict the story of America’s journey toward a ‘more perfect union,’ and celebrate America’s defining ideals of liberty,” acting Mint director Kristie McNally said in a statement.
Trump’s planned ballroom won’t be ready until 2028
The earliest it could be completed is by Trump’s last summer in office.
The National Park Service, or NPS, said in an environmental assessment published Monday that Trump’s planned ballroom won’t be complete until 2028, and the report also found Trump’s plans for the building won’t look great aesthetically.
“The new building’s larger footprint and height will dominate the eastern portion of the site, creating a visual imbalance with the more modestly scaled West Wing and Executive Mansion,” the assessment said. “These changes will adversely alter the design, setting, and feeling of the White House and the grounds over the long term.”
In addition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit Friday that would put the ballroom on hold pending independent reviews, public comment, and congressional approval.
But in a court filing Monday, the administration argued there were unnamed security reasons why construction on the site of the former East Wing couldn’t stop. A judge on Tuesday ruled that construction could move ahead.
Arial used to be a mandated font in this state, but a new bipartisan bill changed that
In Wisconsin, newspapers no longer have to use Arial for public notices.
While Washington’s biggest font news is the switch from Calibri back to Times New Roman at State, lawmakers in Madison, Wisc., have come together across party lines to deregulate the font mandated by law for the state’s newspaper industry.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed a bill into law last week sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans in the Wisconsin state legislature that repeals a statute requiring newspapers use Arial when publishing public notices, or notices about things like foreclosures, hearings, advertisements for bids, financial reports, ordinances, and other government activities.
Arial is a simple, neutral sans-serif font designed by Patricia Saunders and Robin Nicholas in 1982, and it was once considered among the most used sans serifs in the world. In 2011, Wisconsin made it the state-mandated font for publishing public notices in newspapers, but recently, papers haven’t been able to comply because their layout and design platforms didn’t have the font.
“The Arial typeface in some instances is no longer available to the newspaper,” Beth Bennett, executive director of advocacy group Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said during public comment for the bill in November.
Under the revised statute, public notices in the state have to be printed in a sans-serif typeface, but any will do as long as it’s six-point.
Have you seen this?
The Trump administration frames its second term in serif fonts. Presidents, or at least their personnel, spend more time than you might expect thinking about type. (with a shoutout to yours truly) [Bloomberg]
There’s no such thing as a Republican font. “People will ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ the typeface in a political logo based on their political views of the candidate it represents.” [Fast Company]
Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center board votes to rename it the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” The board’s decision to add Trump’s name could face legal hurdles, as the law creating the center prohibits renaming the building. [NBC News]
Nike unveils the Book 1 “Torched” as the finale for Devin Booker’s first signature shoe. The limited-edition shoe for the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker’s debut signature line draws inspiration from Phoenix’s mythology of rising anew from its own ashes. [Hypebeast]
