The White House had better snap up one of these quick: American Mint has just issued the “$1 Trillion Coin,” a gleaming, platinum-plated collector’s coin that shows what the legendary, imaginary trillion-dollar coin could look like. There’s an image of the U.S. Capitol’s “Freedom” statue on the front, and “one trillion dollars” and “no legal tender” on back. And to the inevitable delight of both President Obama and the Republican Congress, this version is only $9.95.
“It’s a great way to commemorate this challenging moment in history,” says Kevin Sacher, president of the Pennsylvania-based company.
The challenging moment, of course, is the nation’s $16 trillion debt, ramped up by recent jaunty suggestions by New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and an assortment of officials that the U.S. Treasury issue a $1 trillion coin to “sidestep the debt ceiling,” and somehow avoid defaulting on the behemoth debt.
Yes, somehow. Well, at least everyone can have a reasonable facsimile of such a potent chunk of change.
See it here: Americanmint.com
