PUBLIC LAW 115–343—DEC. 21, 2018 132 STAT. 5043 

Public Law 115–343 

115th Congress 

An Act 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of the 60th 

Anniversary of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Naismith Memorial Basketball 

Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

The Congress finds the following: 

(1) On December 21, 1891, a young physical education 

instructor named James Naismith, introduced the game of 

‘‘basket ball’’ to his physical education class, in Springfield, 

Massachusetts. 

(2) In 1959, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 

Fame was founded and dedicated to the game’s creator Dr. 

James Naismith, in Springfield, MA, ‘‘The Birthplace of Basketball’’ and became the first and only museum to honor the 

game at all levels around the world. 

(3) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honors 

players who have achieved greatness, exemplary coaches, referees and other major contributors to the sport of basketball. 

The Inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 1959 had seventeen honorees who were inducted, including Dr. James Naismith, George 

Mikan, Forrest C. Allen, Angelo Luisetti, Original Celtics and 

First Team. 

(4) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is 

recognized throughout the world as the premier institution 

entrusted with recording and disseminating the history of the 

game of basketball and recognizing and honoring the achievements of its greatest players, coaches, and contributors. 

(5) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame provides an entertaining, enriching experience and is known for 

its educational outreach programs and celebrates and promotes 

positive core values demonstrated by basketball’s hallowed 

heroes and its founder. 

(6) Basketball is one of America’s national treasures, with 

its fast pace which reflects the freedom of expression and the 

modern experience of life in the 21st century. 

(7) Since its opening in 1959, the Naismith Memorial 

Basketball Hall of Fame is home to the largest collection of 

basketball memorabilia in the world, including more than 

Naismith 

Memorial 

Basketball 

Hall of Fame 

Commemorative 

Coin Act. 

31 USC 5112 

note. 

Dec. 21, 2018 

[H.R. 1235] 


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132 STAT. 5044 PUBLIC LAW 115–343—DEC. 21, 2018 

30,000 three-dimensional objects, 800,000 photographs, and 1.5 

million documents. 

(8) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame welcomes more than 6 million visitors interested in discovering 

the rich history of the game through its stories, its personalities, 

and its most celebrated moments. 

(9) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 

reaches over 7 million Americans through its educational programs, events, exhibits, social media, and its interactive 

website. 

(10) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s 

customized educational programs use basketball to teach young 

students around the world the important lessons on a variety 

of topics including: financial literacy, mathematics, civil rights, 

leadership of character, women’s and men’s history, and geography. 

(11) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will 

lead the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Basketball 

and will partner with a select group of constituents including 

the National Basketball Association, the National Collegiate 

Athletic Association, and USA Basketball in commemorating 

the game throughout the 2019–2020 basketball season. 

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration of the 

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Secretary of the 

Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

mint and issue the following coins: 

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

shall— 

(A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 0.850 

inches; and 

(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy. 

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

which shall— 

(A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 1.500 

inches; and 

(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

(3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more than 750,000 halfdollar coins which shall— 

(A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of 1.205 

inches; and 

(C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar coins 

contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United States Code. 

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

be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United 

States Code. 

(c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 5134 and 

5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this 

Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

(d) DOME SHAPE.—The coins minted under this Act shall be 

in the shape of a dome. 


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PUBLIC LAW 115–343—DEC. 21, 2018 132 STAT. 5045 

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The design for the coins minted under this 

Act shall be— 

(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 

Commission of Fine Arts; and 

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. 

(b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin minted 

under this Act there shall be— 

(1) a designation of the value of the coin; 

(2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’; and 

(3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In God We Trust’’, 

‘‘United States of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

(c) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR OBVERSE DESIGN.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall hold a competition 

to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins 

minted under this Act, with such design being emblematic 

of the game of basketball. 

(2) SELECTION AND APPROVAL.—Proposals for the design 

of coins minted under this Act may be submitted in accordance 

with the design selection and approval process developed by 

the Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary. 

(3) PROPOSALS.—As part of the competition described in 

this subsection, the Secretary may accept proposals from artists, 

engravers and other employees of the United States Mint, 

other Government employees, and members of the general 

public. 

(4) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall determine compensation for the winning design under this subsection, which 

shall be not less than $5,000. The Secretary shall take into 

account this compensation amount when determining the sale 

price described in section 6(a). 

(d) REVERSE DESIGN.—The design on the common reverse of 

the coins minted under this Act shall depict a basketball. 

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

(b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue coins 

minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning 

on January 1, 2020. 

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of— 

(1) the face value of the coins; 

(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect 

to such coins; and 

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

labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, winning design compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the 

coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount. 

(c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 

for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of 

such coins. 

Effective date. 

Determination. 

Determination. 

Consultation. 


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132 STAT. 5046 PUBLIC LAW 115–343—DEC. 21, 2018 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1235: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 

Vol. 163 (2017): Sept. 25, considered and passed House. 

Vol. 164 (2018): Dec. 18, considered and passed Senate. 

Æ 

(2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders 

under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount. 

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under this Act 

shall include a surcharge as follows: (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 

(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 

(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 

States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the 

sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by 

the Secretary to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 

to fund an endowment that will enable increased operations and 

educational programming of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall 

of Fame. 

(c) AUDITS.—The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 

shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) 

of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 

under subsection (b). 

(d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge 

may be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of 

any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, 

the issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 

commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 

5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect on the 

date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury 

may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

Approved December 21, 2018. 


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