I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4107 

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

of the centennial of World War I. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2012 

Mr. LAMBORN (for himself, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. AUSTRIA, Ms. 

NORTON, and Mr. LATTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the centennial of World War I. 

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 ‘‘World War I American 

5 Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The year 2017 is the 100th Anniversary of 

9 America’s entrance into World War I. 


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1 (2) On the 6th of April 1917, the United States 

2 of America entered World War I by declaring war 

3 against Germany. 

4 (3) Two million American soldiers served over5 seas during World War I. 

6 (4) More than four million men and women 

7 from the United States served in uniform during 

8 World War I. 

9 (5) The events of 1914 through 1918 shaped 

10 the world and the lives of millions of people for dec11 ades. 

12 (6) Over 9 million soldiers worldwide lost their 

13 lives between 1914 and 1918. 

14 (7) The centennial of America’s involvement in 

15 World War I offers an opportunity for people in the 

16 United States to commemorate the commitment of 

17 their predecessors. 

18 (8) Frank Buckles, the last American veteran 

19 from World War I died on February 27, 2011. 

20 (9) He was our last direct American link to the 

21 ‘‘war to end all wars’’. 

22 (10) While other great conflicts, including the 

23 Civil War, World War II, the Korean War, and the 

24 Vietnam War, have all been memorialized on United 

25 States commemorative coins, there currently exists 


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1 no coin to honor the brave veterans of World War 

2 I. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to— 

4 (1) commemorate the centennial of America’s 

5 involvement in World War I; and 

6 (2) honor the over 4 million men and women 

7 from the United States who served during World 

8 War I. 

9 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

10 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas11 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

12 shall mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins in 

13 commemoration of the centennial of America’s involve14 ment in World War I, each of which shall— 

15 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

16 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

17 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

18 copper. 

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

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

21 title 31, United States Code. 

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

23 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

24 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis25 matic items. 


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1 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

4 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

5 centennial of America’s involvement in World War I. 

6 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

9 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2017’’; and 

10 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

11 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer12 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

14 under this Act shall be selected by the Secretary based 

15 on the winning design from a juried, compensated design 

16 competition described under subsection (c). 

17 (c) DESIGN COMPETITION.—The Secretary shall hold 

18 a competition and provide compensation for its winner to 

19 design the obverse and reverse of the coins minted under 

20 this Act. The competition shall be held in the following 

21 manner: 

22 (1) The competition shall be judged by an ex23 pert jury chaired by the Secretary and consisting of 

24 3 members from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Com25 mittee who shall be elected by such Committee and 


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1 3 members from the Commission of Fine Arts who 

2 shall be elected by such Commission. 

3 (2) The Secretary shall determine compensation 

4 for the winning design, which shall be not less than 

5 $5,000. 

6 (3) The Secretary may not accept a design for 

7 the competition unless a plaster model accompanies 

8 the design. 

9 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

11 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

12 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only one facility of the United 

13 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

14 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

16 issue coins under this Act only during the calendar year 

17 beginning on January 1, 2017. 

18 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

21 of— 

22 (1) the face value of the coins; 

23 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7 with re24 spect to such coins; and 


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

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

3 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

6 discount. 

7 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

9 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

10 before the issuance of such coins. 

11 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre12 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea13 sonable discount. 

14 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

16 Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

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

18 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 

19 the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 

20 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the World War 

21 I Memorial Foundation. 

22 (c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 

23 States shall have the right to examine such books, records, 

24 documents, and other data of the World War I Memorial 


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1 Foundation as may be related to the expenditures of 

2 amounts paid under subsection (b). 

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

4 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

6 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

7 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro8 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

9 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

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

11 Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

Æ 


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