I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1914

To provide for the issuance of a coin to commemorate the 400th anniversary 

of the Jamestown settlement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2003

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia (for herself, Mr. SCHROCK, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. FORBES, Mr. GOODE, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. WOLF, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To provide for the issuance of a coin to commemorate the 

400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.

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 ‘‘Jamestown 400th An5 niversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The founding of the colony at Jamestown, 

9 Virginia, in 1607, the first permanent English col-
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1 ony in America, and the capital of Virginia for 92 

2 years, has major significance in the history of the 

3 United States. 

4 (2) The Jamestown Settlement brought people 

5 from throughout the Atlantic Basin together to form 

6 a society that drew upon the strengths and charac7 teristics of English, European, African, and Native 

8 American cultures. 

9 (3) The economic, political, religious, and social 

10 institutions that developed during the first 9 decades 

11 of the existence of Jamestown continue to have pro12 found effects on the United States, particularly in 

13 English common law and language, cross cultural re14 lationships, manufacturing, and economic structure 

15 and status. 

16 (4) The National Park Service, the Association 

17 for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and the 

18 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation of the Common19 wealth of Virginia collectively own and operate sig20 nificant resources related to the early history of 

21 Jamestown. 

22 (5) In 2000, Congress established the James23 town 400th Commemoration Commission to ensure 

24 a suitable national observance of the Jamestown 

25 2007 anniversary and to support and facilitate mar-
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1 keting efforts for a commemorative coin, stamp, and 

2 related activities for the Jamestown 2007 observ3 ances. 

4 (6) A commemorative coin will bring national 

5 and international attention to the lasting legacy of 

6 Jamestown, Virginia. 

7 (7) The proceeds from a surcharge on the sale 

8 of such commemorative coin will assist the financing 

9 of a suitable national observance in 2007 of the 

10 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, 

11 Virginia. 

12 SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

13 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas14 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary) 

15 shall mint and issue the following coins: 

16 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 5 

17 dollar coins, which shall—

18 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

19 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

20 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

21 alloy. 

22 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 

23 1 dollar coins, which shall—

24 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

25 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
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1 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per2 cent copper. 

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

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

5 title 31, United States Code. 

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

7 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

8 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis9 matic items. 

10 SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION. 

11 The Secretary shall obtain gold and silver for minting 

12 coins under this Act pursuant to the authority of the Sec13 retary under other provisions of law. 

14 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

15 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins 

17 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

18 settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, the first perma19 nent English settlement in America. 

20 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

21 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

22 (A) a designation of the value of the coin; 

23 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2007’’; and 
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1 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

2 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer3 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

4 (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

5 under this Act shall be—

6 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

7 with—

8 (A) the Jamestown 2007 Steering Com9 mittee, created by the Jamestown-Yorktown 

10 Foundation of the Commonwealth of Virginia; 

11 (B) the National Park Service; and 

12 (C) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

13 (2) reviewed by the citizens advisory committee 

14 established under section 5135 of title 31, United 

15 States Code. 

16 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

18 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

20 States Mint may be used to strike any particular combina21 tion of denomination and quality of the coins minted under 

22 this Act. 

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

24 issue coins minted under this Act only during the period
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1 beginning on January 1, 2007, and ending on December 

2 31, 2007. 

3 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

4 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold 

6 by the Secretary at a price equal to the face value, plus 

7 the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including 

8 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex9 penses, and marketing). 

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

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

12 discount. 

13 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

15 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

16 before the issuance of such coins. 

17 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre18 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea19 sonable discount. 

20 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

21 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales shall include 

22 a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coins and $10 per 

23 coin for the $1 coins. 

24 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 

25 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges which are re-
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1 ceived by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under 

2 this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows: 

3 (1) PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING

OF THE LEGACIES OF JAMESTOWN.—1 4 ⁄2 of the sur5 charges shall be used to support programs to pro6 mote the understanding of the legacies of James7 town and for such purpose shall be paid to the 

8 Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation of the Common9 wealth of Virginia. 

10 (2) OTHER PURPOSES FOR SURCHARGES.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—1 11 ⁄2 of the surcharges 

12 shall be used for the following purposes: 

13 (i) To sustain the ongoing mission of 

14 preserving Jamestown. 

15 (ii) To enhance national and inter16 national educational programs relating to 

17 Jamestown, Virginia. 

18 (iii) To improve infrastructure and ar19 chaeological research activities relating to 

20 Jamestown, Virginia. 

21 (iv) To conduct other programs to 

22 support the commemoration of the 400th 

23 anniversary of the settlement of James24 town, Virginia. 
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1 (B) RECIPIENTS OF SURCHARGES FOR

2 SUCH OTHER PURPOSES.—The surcharges re3 ferred to in subparagraph (A) shall be distrib4 uted by the Secretary in equal shares to the fol5 lowing organizations for the purposes described 

6 in such subparagraph: 

7 (i) The Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (ii) The Association for the Preserva9 tion of Virginia Antiquities. 

10 (iii) The Jamestown-Yorktown Foun11 dation of the Commonwealth of Virginia 

12 (c) AUDITS.—The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation 

13 of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Secretary of the In14 terior, and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia 

15 Antiquities shall each be subject to the audit requirements 

16 of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code.

Æ