II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 697 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 

recognition of the Bicentennial of Harriet Tubman’s birth. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2021 

Ms. ROSEN (for herself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. CARPER, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. 

WARNOCK, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of the Bicentennial of Harriet 

Tubman’s birth. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harriet Tubman Bi5 centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Harriet Tubman was a formerly enslaved 

2 abolitionist who guided about 70 people from slavery 

3 to freedom in 10 years. 

4 (2) Born in March 1822, Tubman was a nota5 ble abolitionist who not only freed herself, but also 

6 freed others from slavery. 

7 (3) Harriet Ross Tubman, born Araminta 

8 ‘‘Minty’’ Ross, was born enslaved on the plantation 

9 of Anthony Thompson in Dorchester County, Mary10 land. 

11 (4) With the help of the Underground Railroad 

12 network, in the fall of 1849, Tubman escaped from 

13 Poplar Neck in Caroline County, Maryland, heading 

14 north to freedom in Pennsylvania. 

15 (5) With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act 

16 as part of the Compromise of 1850, the operations 

17 to help enslaved persons escape became dangerous 

18 and she risked her life to rescue them from slavery. 

19 (6) Despite passage of the Compromise of 1850 

20 and the Fugitive Slave Act, Tubman continued her 

21 work, escorting her refugees to Canada instead. 

22 (7) It was during the 1850s that Tubman made 

23 13 trips back to Maryland, guiding approximately 70 

24 enslaved persons to the North, including family 


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1 members, and providing instruction to about 70 

2 more who found their way to freedom on their own. 

3 (8) Regardless of the arduous process of help4 ing fugitive enslaved persons escape through the Un5 derground Railroad, not a single person was recap6 tured under Tubman’s supervision. 

7 (9) During 1859, Tubman aided abolitionist 

8 John Brown by recruiting supporters for his raid on 

9 Harper’s Ferry, a planned insurrection against 

10 slaveholders in Virginia and Maryland. 

11 (10) In the beginning of the Civil War, Tubman 

12 served as a spy, cook, and nurse in South Carolina 

13 and Florida. 

14 (11) Tubman also recruited newly freed Afri15 can-American men to join regiments of African16 American soldiers called United States Colored 

17 Troops. 

18 (12) In recognition of her abilities, Tubman 

19 served as an army scout and spy for Major General 

20 David Hunter and Colonel James Montgomery. Har21 riet Tubman was inducted into the Military Intel22 ligence Corps Hall of Fame. 

23 (13) Tubman distinguished herself as the first 

24 woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War, 


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1 the Combahee River Raid, resulting in more than 

2 700 enslaved persons in South Carolina being freed. 

3 (14) After the Civil War, Tubman frequently 

4 sheltered and fed newly freed enslaved persons at 

5 her home on South Street in Auburn, New York, 

6 which she purchased from Secretary of State Wil7 liam Henry Seward, even though she had little 

8 money herself. She found a means to an end by 

9 working as a domestic, selling produce from her gar10 den, taking in donations of food, loans from friends, 

11 and raising pigs on her farm. 

12 (15) Tubman became active in the women’s 

13 movement as early as 1860. She attended meetings 

14 and gave speeches in her home State of New York, 

15 as well as in Boston and Washington, DC. 

16 (16) Tubman was an avid advocate for African17 American women and their civil rights. In 1896, she 

18 was invited as a speaker at the first meeting of the 

19 National Association of Colored Women in Wash20 ington, DC. 

21 (17) Although living in financial insecurity, 

22 Tubman transferred a 25-acre parcel of land to the 

23 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1903, 

24 which eventually became The Harriet Tubman 

25 Home for the Aged and Indigent Negroes. At the 


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1 time, few social services existed for elderly and ill 

2 people of color. 

3 (18) Escaping slavery, risking everything to 

4 save her family and friends, aiding enslaved persons 

5 in escape from slavery, leading a military raid, 

6 championing the cause of women’s suffrage, advo7 cating for civil rights and access to health care, Har8 riet Tubman is an individual that has performed 

9 achievements that have had profound impacts on 

10 history and culture in the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

12 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of Harriet 

13 Tubman, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter referred 

14 to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue 

15 the following coins: 

16 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

17 coins, which shall— 

18 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

19 (B) be struck on a planchet having a di20 ameter of 0.850 inches; and 

21 (C) contain at least 90 percent gold. 

22 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

23 $1 coins, which shall— 

24 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 


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1 (B) be struck on a planchet having a di2 ameter of 1.500 inches; and 

3 (C) contain at least 90 percent silver. 

4 (3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

5 than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

6 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

7 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

8 (C) be minted to the specifications for half9 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

10 31, United States Code. 

11 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 

12 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 

13 title 31, United States Code. 

14 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

15 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

16 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis17 matic items. 

18 SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS. 

19 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 

21 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

22 legacy of Harriet Tubman as an abolitionist. At 

23 least one obverse design shall bear the image of 

24 Harriet Tubman. 


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1 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

2 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 

3 (A) an inscription of Harriet Tubman; 

4 (B) a designation of the value of the coin; 

5 (C) an inscription of the year ‘‘2024’’; and 

6 (D) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

7 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer8 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

9 (b) SELECTION.—The designs for the coins minted 

10 under this Act shall be— 

11 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

12 with the National Underground Railroad Freedom 

13 Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Harriet Tubman 

14 Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, and the Commis15 sion of the Fine Arts; and 

16 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

17 Committee. 

18 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

19 (a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 

20 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

21 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United 

22 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

23 of the coins minted under this Act. 

24 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

25 issue coins under this Act only during the period beginVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 Apr 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S697.IS S697

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1 ning on January 1, 2024, and ending on December 31, 

2 2024. 

3 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

4 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 

5 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 

6 of— 

7 (1) the face value of the coins; 

8 (2) the surcharge provided under section 7(a) 

9 with respect to the coins; and 

10 (3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 

11 (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 

12 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

13 (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 

14 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 

15 discount. 

16 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 

18 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

19 before the issuance of the coins. 

20 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre21 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea22 sonable discount. 

23 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

25 Act shall include— 


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1 (1) a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 

2 coins; 

3 (2) a surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 

4 coins; and 

5 (3) a surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol6 lar coin. 

7 (b) DISTRIBUTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, 

10 United States Code, all surcharges received by the 

11 Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this 

12 Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary equally 

13 to the National Underground Railroad Freedom 

14 Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet Tub15 man Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, for the pur16 pose of accomplishing and advancing their missions. 

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding section 

18 5134(f)(1) of title 31, United States Code, if an en19 tity described in paragraph (1) of this subsection 

20 raises funds from private sources in an amount that 

21 is less than the total amount of the proceeds of the 

22 surcharge derived from the sale of the coins issued 

23 under this Act, the Secretary shall promptly pay to 

24 the other entity the proceeds of such surcharge. 


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1 (c) AUDITS.—The National Underground Railroad 

2 Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet 

3 Tubman Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, shall be sub4 ject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 

5 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts re6 ceived under subsection (b). 

7 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

8 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

9 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 

10 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

11 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro12 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

13 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

14 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code. The 

15 Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

16 this subsection. 

17 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

18 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec19 essary to ensure that— 

20 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

21 will not result in any net cost to the United States 

22 Government; and 

23 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

24 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

25 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 


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1 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

2 materials, dies, use of machinery, winning design 

3 compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and 

4 shipping) is recovered by the United States Treas5 ury, consistent with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of 

6 title 31, United States Code. 

Æ 


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