Can US Mint fix the debt ceiling crisis and conjure up a $1 trillion platinum coin?

With Congress refusing to raise the statutory debt limit, some are calling on the U.S. Mint to create a single platinum coin and then "sell" it to the Federal Reserve for $1 trillion.

The mission of the Mint changed as it became an adjunct to the Federal Reserve, to which Congress delegated expansion or contraction of the money supply under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. As a result, the mint retained responsibilities and powers delegated by Congress in Title 31 of the United States Code.. 31 U.S.C. §5111(a)(1), which instructs the secretary of the Treasury to produce the coins described in Section 5112 " in amounts the Secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States." Those coins, from pennies to half-dollars, are specified – along with their compositions – in 31 U.S.C. §5112.