TREASURY SECRETARY PUSHING TO HONOR ROGER PENSKE

Most U.S. coins and medals are authorized by specific coinage acts written and passed by Congress. In recent years the Treasury Department has used its own authority to create certain national medals for the American public to collect and enjoy. Like other coins and medals, these are official products of the United States, designed and produced by the nation's Mint. But they don't require individual acts of Congress, because the U.S. Code (31 U.S.C. § 5111(a)(2)) gives the Secretary of the Treasury freedom and flexibility to dream them up and create them.

One example is the American Liberty silver medal series, launched in 2016 (along with related gold coins) to celebrate modern interpretations of the idea of American liberty. This has grown into a remarkably innovative program, showcasing creative artists and using new technology to manufacture its coins and medals in impressive high relief.

Another example is the program of .999 fine silver national medals honoring American presidents. This series started with George Washington in 2018, and has produced four medals each year since 2019.

A third collection debuted in 2021, creating new silver medals for each branch of the U.S. military. These were issued in two sizes: one-ounce and larger 2.5-ounce, each made of .999 fine silver.

These medal programs embody themes that are historically important and national in their scope—themes like the leadership of the presidency, the strength and traditions of our armed forces, and the very concept of American liberty.

Now, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has proposed a national medal of an apparently more commercialized and less historic nature. It would commemorate a street-circuit race of the NTT IndyCar Series held in Washington, D.C., and feature a portrait honoring Roger Penske, founder and chairman of Penske Corporation.

The medal is planned at the size of a half dollar (1.205 inches in diameter)—about 25 percent smaller than the silver medals mentioned above, and likely thinner. Its proposed designs were reviewed and tweaked by executives of the Penske Corporation.

What Does the Medal Commemorate?

There seems to be some confusion among the Treasury Department, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and the Penske Corporation about what, exactly, the medal is supposed to accomplish.

According to the U.S. Mint website, "The Freedom 250 Grand Prix National Medal commemorates the Freedom 250 Grand Prix Indy-car racing event in Washington, DC, which will occur on August 22–23, 2026." The website mentions no connection to the Semiquincentennial of American independence.

However, according to the IndyCar website, "The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. will recognize the historic milestone of America's independence and celebrate the unparalleled tradition and legacy of America's motorsports industry." It describes the two-day event as including a race that will run 1.7 miles through the streets of Washington, DC—a distance of 249.9 miles in 147 laps.

The medal, then, appears to mark the Semiquincentennial in a roundabout way, because the race it commemorates is part of a two-day Grand Prix event that both "recognizes" the history of American independence and "celebrates" America's motorsports industry.

Penske Corporation executives Jonathan Gibson (left) and Larry Bluth during the August 6, 2026, CCAC meeting. (Images courtesy of the United States Mint)

Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corporation's Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, spoke on behalf of Roger Penske at an August 6 meeting of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

According to the TeamPenske website, Mr. Gibson leads all marketing, brand, and business development initiatives for Penske Corporation: "In his role, Gibson also oversees corporate communications processes and messaging, digital innovation, and several short and long-term strategic initiatives across Penske Corporation and its subsidiary brands, including Penske Automotive Group (PAG), Penske Transportation Solutions (PTS), and Penske Entertainment."

It's unclear what the 89-year-old Roger Penske was promised or led to believe about this national medal. But a remark from Mr. Gibson to the committee is telling: "It's my privilege to be here and speak on behalf of Roger Penske this afternoon as we consider him for this distinguished special ceremonial medal from the United States Mint." And further: "He is very humbled and very proud to be considered for this humbling opportunity. We are very proud as you consider recognizing someone whose life work reflects the very best of the American spirit. Thank you again for this amazing opportunity."

President Donald Trump standing at attention during the citation reading for Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Roger Penske, Thursday, October 24, 2019, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

The tone of those comments suggests that Roger Penske has been led to think of this medal as an honorific piece, like a Congressional Gold Medal, or akin to the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian honor) given to him by President Donald Trump in 2019—but with a much more personal design and distributed nationwide as an official product of the United States Mint.

Review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee met Thursday afternoon, August 6, 2026, to review design proposals for the national medal. The CCAC is a congressionally established body of eleven members representing the general public, as well as specialists in American history, numismatics, medallic sculpture, and curatorship. Its main function is to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on themes and design proposals for circulating coinage, bullion, Congressional Gold Medals, commemorative coins, and national medals. Per the Treasury, "The CCAC serves as an informed, experienced, and impartial resource to the Secretary and represents the interests of American citizens and collectors."

The CCAC meeting was announced in the Federal Register about 48 hours before its start, and the final design portfolio was released to the media after the meeting. Public participation was scant: The Mint's YouTube channel has more than 21,000 subscribers, but only 30 to 40 people were tuned in through most of the public meeting, which was conducted virtually. More than half of those appear to have been CCAC members and Treasury staff.

A small portfolio was reviewed, consisting of two obverse design candidates and two reverse candidates. CCAC members received this portfolio on August 4, giving them two days to review it before their public meeting.

Mint officials noted that "Obverse 4 is the preference of the representatives for Penske. They recommend that the inscription on the central Indy car be edited to remove ‘250' from the car, and the remaining inscription ‘USA' be centered on it in its place." They further noted that "Reverse 3 is the preference of the representatives of Penske."

There was discussion of various aesthetic factors—for example, whether the racing motion shown in Obverse 4 was preferable to the larger view of the Capitol in Obverse 5, and which Penske portrait was better.

History professor Dr. Christopher Capozolla was skeptical of the mission success of the medal's designs. "Overall," he said, "I believe . . . that none of these designs meet the historical, aesthetic, and professional standards of the U.S. Mint at a level sufficient for respectfully commemorating either the Semiquincentennial or the road race that will be convened as part of the [Freedom 250] celebrations later this summer, and I advocate that those seeking to honor the achievements of Roger Penske pursue through Congress the issuance of a Congressional Gold Medal."

The Committee's numismatic specialist, Sam Gelberd, also advised that the reverse designs would serve better as the obverse for a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Roger Penske. (This was a rhetorical observation; no such award has yet been pursued by Congress to honor Penske.)

Kellen Hoard, a representative of the general public, observed this about the Penske portrait reverse design candidates: "I believe the Committee should recommend against both designs, for a number of reasons. First, they're not cleanly related to the medal's stated theme. Their designs and texts are divorced from the Grand Prix. If you didn't see the obverse, you would have no clue what this medal is about. In fact, these reverse designs read as a Penske medal, promoting him as a motorsport pioneer. He is a pioneer, but this isn't a medal celebrating him. It's about the Grand Prix. It'd be kind of like our Batman coins [from the Mint's recent ‘Comic Art' collection] having Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav on the reverse."

John Saunders, who holds the CCAC position recommended by the House Minority Leader in 2022, had sympathy with Hoard's assessment: "By itself, you wouldn't know that it's a race commemorative; you might think it's a Penske commemorative."

Donald Scarinci, senior member of the CCAC, who was recommended to his most recent post by the Senate Majority Leader in 2024, noted: "Roger Penske is alive. He is a living American. He is a billionaire with a net worth of $8.3 billion as of October 5th. He ranks 446th worldwide among the billionaire class. Having said that, the Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to make gold coins and medals. It is for the lawyers to opine whether a portrait of a living person can appear on a United States medal without an Act of Congress. Since these things are above my pay grade, I do not offer an opinion on the reverse design and I will not be casting a vote on it."

Obverse or Reverse?

CCAC members and Mint chief engraver Joseph Menna discussed if the reverse design, with Roger Penske's portrait, was actually the obverse of the medal.

Kellen Hoard said this about the Penske portrait: "I believe we should recommend against both designs and encourage the Mint to consider reverse designs which are actually reverse designs and tied to the Grand Prix itself."

Menna defended the idea of the portrait design being the reverse of the medal. He said that a medal's obverse, going back to the Renaissance, was traditionally the "what" or the "who" of its subject matter, and the reverse was the "why." The obverse would traditionally feature the Pope or the Medici or emperor being honored, and the reverse would show his achievements. But modern coinage, said Menna, has evolved and can flip that script. He gave an example of the recent American Women quarters, which feature their main subjects on the reverse. For the Freedom 250 Grand Prix medal, Menna said, "The story is the race"—the "what" of the medal— and Roger Penske is the "why." Committee members didn't seem convinced by this reasoning.

Donald Scarinci objected: "For twenty years, [Mint legal counsel] has told us, unequivocally, that a living person could not be depicted on the obverse of a medal or coin without an act of Congress." Scarinci insisted that "the attempt to claim that the portrait is the reverse rather than the obverse . . . gives the lawyers something to say when Congress eventually holds hearings about things like this." Chief Engraver Menna persisted, making a distinction between "a tight portrait" (which wouldn't be acceptable) and "a bust" (which would be), with Reverse 3 being an acceptable example of the latter.

The Committee's Recommendation

After discussion, each CCAC member voted to assign zero, one, two, or three points to each candidate design. With nine members voting, each design could score a potential 27 points. Scoring was as follows:

Obverse Design 4: 10/27.
Obverse Design 5: 17/27.
Reverse Design 2: 9/27.
Reverse Design 3: 7/27.

A motion was made to recommend Design 5 for the obverse along with the edit recommended by the Penske executives (removing "250" from the racecar). This passed unanimously.

There was no motion or committee recommendation regarding the reverse.

The transcript and minutes of the CCAC meeting, and an official letter from Acting Chairman Arthur Bernstein, will be presented to Treasury Secretary Bessent. The Secretary has final decision-making on the medal's designs.

Personal Observations

The optics of this project range from awkward to ill-advised for all parties involved. For Roger Penske and the Penske Corporation, it looks like a vanity project that misuses public resources. For the Treasury Department, it raises questions of who is making decisions for such proposals to get this far in the first place.

I served as the numismatic specialist on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee for two terms, under three presidential administrations, from 2016 to 2024. To my knowledge, the authority of the Treasury Secretary has never (before this Freedom 250 Grand Prix national medal) been used to honor a living person on a national medal.

Accompanying Penske Corporation Vice President Jonathan Gibson was Larry Bluth, the company's Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Bluth was inducted into the Team Penske Hall of Fame in 2022. According to a press release, he joined the team in 1981 and since 1986 has "overseen all organizational legal matters, while managing legal policy and strategy . . . including the overall structure of the company's motorsports business. "His executive biography notes that he has "crafted and executed Team Penske's sponsorship [and other] agreements."

Mr. Bluth made no comment during the meeting other than to thank the Committee.

At least once during the meeting, a Treasury official referred to the Penske Corporation executives as the medal program's "stakeholders."

The intimate involvement of Penske Corporation in this national medal strains the definition of what's acceptable in our nation's coinage and medals. The United States Mint is being pressed into service to commemorate a specific auto race with a national medal featuring a portrait of a private businessman, using imagery tied to his business interests.

Questions abound. If the medal is meant to honor the legacy of America's motorsports industry, why are NASCAR and the IMSA SportsCar Championship not included? Why is the NTT IndyCar Series singled out for publicity?

If the medal is part of the national Semiquincentennial celebrations, why is Roger Penske included in the Mint's lineup? Why do Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan not deserve the same honor? And military heroes like Nathanael Green, Ulysses S. Grant, John "Black Jack" Pershing, and Douglas MacArthur? Among America's great businessmen and sports heroes, why is Mr. Penske singled out for national celebration?

Why are American motorsports honored this way, but not American science, medicine, technology, engineering, and other achievements? Why are motorsports elevated above other business and sports entertainment successes?

And if the 250th year of American independence is the medal's theme, how does removing "250" from the car on the obverse make that clear? It seems to confirm that the medal is more about the NTT IndyCar Series and Penske than about the Semiquincentennial.

In addition to Roger Penske and IndyCar, Freedom 250 is prominently advertised on the medal. Freedom 250 is a public-private partnership created in 2025 to manage Semiquincentennial events led by the White House. This medal is not a proposal of America250, which is the official, congressionally mandated bipartisan Semiquincentennial commission created in 2016.

Questions of legality are, as CCAC senior member Donald Scarinci pointed out, a matter for the government's lawyers. 31 U.S.C. § 5111(a)(2) gives the Treasury Secretary authority for preparation of national medal dies and striking of national medals. This authority requires that the medals don't "interfere with regular minting operations," and it specifies that the Mint "may not prepare private medal dies." It doesn't define what constitutes a "private" medal, but this Grand Prix proposal at least comes close to any reasonably held definition.

The rushed nature of the program also raises questions. The CCAC meeting was publicized just two days in advance. The CCAC's review took place two and a half weeks before the Freedom 250 Grand Prix race. Events honoring the national Semiquincentennial have been in planning for ten years. Why is this medal so suddenly a priority of the Treasury Department?

If this medal proposal comes to fruition, nobody in the Treasury Department or in the Penske Corporation will emerge looking good. It will appear to be a private company's misuse of public institutions. It will be a stain on the integrity of our national numismatic traditions and will open the Treasury Department to even more questionable programs.

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