To provide research and development authority for alternative coinage materials to the Secretary of the Treasury, increase congressional oversight over coin production, and ensure the continuity of certain numismatic items.

Summary: Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report biennially to specified congressional committees on production costs for each circulating coin, cost trends, and possible new metallic materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins. Requires detailed recommendations in such reports for: (1) changes to the metallic content of circulating coins; (2) changes in coin production methodology that would further reduce the costs of production; and (3) legislative changes necessary to achieve such goals.

Prohibits the Secretary from including any recommendation for specifications: (1) for producing a circulating coin that would require significant change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to accommodate changes to all circulating coins simultaneously; or (2) that would facilitate or allow the use of a coin with a lesser value produced, minted, or issued by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a circulating coin produced by the Secretary.

Authorizes the Secretary, in order to complete the first biennial report and to develop and evaluate the use of new metallic materials for circulating coin production, to: (1) conduct any appropriate testing of appropriate coinage metallic materials; and (2) work with federal and nonfederal entities, including independent research facilities or suppliers of the metallic material used in volume production of circulating coins.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Coin Modernization, Oversight, and 
Continuity Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON ALL 
CIRCULATING COINS.
    (a) In General.--To accomplish the goals of this Act and the 
requirements of subchapter II of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code, the Secretary of the Treasury may--
        (1) conduct any appropriate testing of appropriate coinage 
    metallic materials within or outside of the Department of the 
    Treasury; and
        (2) solicit input from or otherwise work in conjunction with 
    entities within or outside of the Federal Government including 
    independent research facilities or current or potential suppliers 
    of the metallic material used in volume production of circulating 
    coins,
to complete the report referred to in this Act and to develop and 
evaluate the use of new metallic materials.
    (b) Factors to Be Considered.--In the conduct of research, 
development, and the solicitation of input or work in conjunction with 
entities within and outside the Federal Government, and in reporting to 
the Congress with recommendations, as required by this Act, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall consider the following:
        (1) Factors relevant to the potential impact of any revisions 
    to the composition of the material used in coin production on the 
    current coinage material suppliers.
        (2) Factors relevant to the ease of use and ability to co-
    circulate of new coinage materials, including the effect on vending 
    machines and commercial coin processing equipment and making 
    certain, to the greatest extent practicable, that any new coins 
    work without interruption in existing coin acceptance equipment 
    without modification.
        (3) Such other factors that the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
    consultation with merchants who would be affected by any change in 
    the composition of circulating coins, vending machine and other 
    coin acceptor manufacturers, vending machine owners and operators, 
    transit officials, municipal parking officials, depository 
    institutions, coin and currency handlers, armored-car operators, 
    car wash operators, and American-owned manufacturers of commercial 
    coin processing equipment, considers to be appropriate and in the 
    public interest, after notice and opportunity for comment.
SEC. 3. BIENNIAL REPORT TO THE CONGRESS ON THE CURRENT STATUS OF COIN 
PRODUCTION COSTS AND ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE CONTENT.
    (a) Report Required.--Before the end of the 2-year period beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this Act, and at 2-year intervals 
following the end of such period, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate analyzing production costs for each circulating 
coin, cost trends for such production, and possible new metallic 
materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins.
    (b) Detailed Recommendations.--In preparing and submitting the 
reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall include detailed recommendations for any appropriate changes to 
the metallic content of circulating coins in such a form that the 
recommendations could be enacted into law as appropriate.
    (c)  Improved Production Efficiency.--In preparing and submitting 
the reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall include recommendations for changes in the methods of 
producing coins that would further reduce the costs to produce 
circulating coins, and include notes on the legislative changes that 
are necessary to achieve such goals.
    (d) Minimizing Conversion Costs.--In preparing and submitting the 
reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury, 
to the greatest extent possible, may not include any recommendation for 
new specifications for producing a circulating coin that would require 
any significant change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to 
accommodate changes to all circulating coins simultaneously.
    (e) Fraud Prevention.--The reports required under this section 
shall make no recommendation for a specification change that would 
facilitate or allow the use of a coin with a lesser value produced, 
minted, or issued by another country, or the use of any token or other 
easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the 
place of a circulating coin produced by the Secretary.
    (f) Rule of Construction.--No provision of this Act shall be 
construed as requiring that additional research and development be 
conducted for any report under this Act but any such report shall 
include information on any such research and development during the 
period covered by the report.
SEC. 4. MEETING DEMAND FOR SILVER AND GOLD NUMISMATIC ITEMS.
    Subsections (e) and (i) of section 5112 of title 31, United States 
Code are each amended by striking ``quantities'' and inserting 
``qualities and quantities that the Secretary determines are''.
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
    Section 5112(u)(1) of title 31, United States Code is amended--
        (1) by striking ``exact duplicates'' and inserting 
    ``likenesses'';
        (2) by striking subparagraph (C);
        (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as subparagraphs 
    (C) and (D), respectively; and
        (4) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``of 3.0 inches'' and 
    inserting ``determined by the Secretary that is no less than 2.5 
    inches and no greater than 3.0 inches''.
SEC. 6. BUDGETARY EFFECT.
    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.