President Donald Trump has nominated Louisiana state school board member Paul Hollis to run the U.S. Mint, which is responsible for producing American coin money.
“It’s been a life’s dream to have this opportunity,” said Hollis, who started studying coins as a child and works as a rare coin dealer professionally.
The Mandeville Republican described himself as a numismatist, someone who intensely studies the history and manufacturing of coins.
After graduating from LSU in 1994, Hollis spent a decade working for Blanchard and Co., a rare coin and precious metals firm in New Orleans. He eventually started his own rare coin business and, in 2011, published a book, “American Numismatist,” which explored the nation’s coin production through history.
“I don’t think there is anybody better qualified than me” to run the U.S. Mint, Hollis said in an interview Thursday.
His appointment requires U.S. Senate confirmation, and he expects a hearing to be scheduled in the next two months. The Mint director reports to the U.S. Treasury secretary and serves a five-year term.
In the job, Hollis would oversee six manufacturing plants, where American coins and honorary medals are made, as well as the Mint’s 500 law enforcement agents. The director is also in charge of the U.S. government’s gold reserve in Kentucky, known as Fort Knox.
Kristie McNally currently has served as interim U.S. Mint director since Ventris Gibson, the appointee of former President Joe Biden, stepped down from the role at Trump’s request in March.
Since 2024, Hollis has represented District 1 on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which includes St. Tammany and portions of Jefferson, Orleans and Tangipahoa parishes. He previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2012-23.
Hollis will have to resign his state school board seat to take the Mint director job, but he isn’t sure when he will step down yet. His departure will likely be followed by the interim appointment of a new school board member by Gov. Jeff Landry and then a special election to fill the seat permanently.
Hollis said he reached out to President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, ahead of the 2024 election to express interest in becoming the Mint director if Trump won a second term. Johnson and Hollis served in the Louisiana House together and are friends, Hollis said.
Assuming he receives Senate confirmation, Hollis said he is most excited about helping the U.S. government celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year, which will come with a new batch of coins.
He will also assist with the phasing out of the penny. The Mint is expected to stop producing one-cent coins in early 2026.
Hollis said his favorite coin is the one that launched his interest in numismatics as a child. When he was seven, his grandmother gave him a $2.50 Indian Gold coin made in New Orleans during the Great Depression.