The White House Is Now Selling This Absurd Commemorative Coin Honoring President Trump’s Fight Against the Coronavirus
The mint shows an artist ’ s translation of the coronavirus overlay on a world map, and reads ( with characteristically Trumpian capitalization ), “ World vanadium virus : We Fought the Unseen Enemy. Everyday HEROES Suited Up. Everyday CITIZENS Did Their Part. ” The other side features the presidential dais, where Trump until recently delivered his controversial casual press briefings .
The mint is on sale for a cool $ 100—marked off from $ 125 for pre-orders. It was designed by Challenge Design, an Illinois and Indiana-based company specializing in commemorative coins. When reached by Artnet News, company owner and creative film director Mary H. Harms declined to comment. The White House Gift Shop did not respond to inquiries .
Listed on the mint like Marvel characters are members of the COVID-19 Task Force : trump, Vice President Michael Pence, Secretary of State Steven Mnuchin, surgeon general Jerome Adams, coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci.
The White House Gift Shop, which besides sells Trump ’ s touch loss “ Make America Great Again ” hat for $ 24.95, was founded by President Harry S Truman and the Secret Service in 1946, but has not been affiliated with the US government since 2013. privately owned and for-profit, it does, however, feature a USA.gov logo on its web site .
The limited-edition COVID chachka is the 11th mint in the endowment shop class ’ s alleged “ Historic Moments ” series. That includes one commemorate Trump ’ s north korean summit in Singapore—an official government interpretation made headlines when it was pushed into production even when the talk was temporarily cancelled—and not one, but two coins titled “ Genius Makes Its own Rules. ”
According to the New York Times, Trump ’ mho presidency has “ yielded more—and more elaborate—coins that are shinier, flashier and even bigger ” than those of his predecessors .
This White House Gift Shop statement about take-backs on Trump World Peace Coin pre-orders is HI-LARIOUS. It’s like, you can ask for your money back but you ‘ll regret it…😂 pic.twitter.com/jPOCp9FfnI
— Amee Vanderpool ( @ girlsreallyrule ) May 24, 2018
He evening put his MAGA campaign motto on a presidential challenge coin—a token handed out to service members to commemorate limited achievements—replacing the traditional presidential seal and home motto, E pluribus unum, or “ Out of many, one. ” Trump besides eschewed ash grey or copper, as is typical of challenge coins, for gold, in keeping with his preferred gilded aesthetic .
The president ’ sulfur unique approach to coins has already inspired some artists to put their own braid on the form. Valery Estabrook presented her project, called “ The Impeachmint, ” at concluding month ’ mho SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York. In the series, she immortalizes the administration ’ s lowest moments, such as Trump ’ s impeachment .
The artist was already planning to design a coin to memorialize the administration ’ s response to the pandemic. But she was surprised to have been beaten to the punch by the White House Gift Shop .
Read more: 1985 2 oz Great Britain 4-Coin Gold Proof Set | Bullion Exchanges
The web site claims that “ 100 % of profit Donated to Five Major COVID-19 Research Hospitals, ” although the hospitals are not identified. An earlier report card from LGBTQ Nation noted that 20 percentage of proceeds will be “ donate each day to US hospitals including Johns Hopkins for its COVID-19 Coordination and Trackins [ sic ]. ”
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