New U.S. Mint Director Nominated

Longtime coin collector and dealer Paul Hollis has been nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as the 41st director of the U.S. Mint. Previous Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson vacated the position in March 2025. Acting Director Kristie McNally has been serving in the interim. The role is typically held by government officials with little working numismatic knowledge. Therefore, Hollis’s nomination for the post represents a rare opportunity for a hobby leader to helm the world’s largest mint. 

Hollis has collected coins since age 6 and began running his numismatic firm, Paul Hollis Rare Coins, in 2003. He has been involved with many philanthropic ventures, including giving away more than 1,000 John Quincy Adams Presidential $1 coins to students at John Quincy Adams Middle School in Metairie, Louisiana, in 2009. Hollis was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he served the 104th District from 2012 through 2024. 

“Paul Hollis has a unique understanding of how coins are marketed cost effectively as numismatic products to mass-market audiences,” says numismatic expert and bestselling author Scott Travers. “Paul’s background should bode well for collectors because he understands how they think and is able to carefully balance this with the economic goals of the U.S. Mint. It will be greatly beneficial to the hobby and industry to have a mint director who understands the collector mindset as a dealer from day one on the job.” 

Mint directors are appointed by the president but must be confirmed by the Senate. Hollis, now serving as a member of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, awaits his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill to become the next mint director.