I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2808

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

of the bicenntenial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2005

Mr. LAHOOD (for himself, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. BEAN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. COSTELLO, Mrs. 

BIGGERT, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. WELLER, 

Mr. EVANS, Mr. HYDE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Illinois, and Mr. GUTIERREZ) 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 bicenntenial of the birth of 

Abraham Lincoln.

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 ‘‘Abraham Lincoln Com5 memorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was 

2 one of the Nation’s greatest leaders, demonstrating 

3 true courage during the Civil War, one of the great4 est crises in the Nation’s history. 

5 (2) Born of humble roots in present-day LaRue 

6 County, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, Abraham 

7 Lincoln rose to the Presidency through a combina8 tion of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commit9 ment to the United States. 

10 (3) With the belief that all men were created 

11 equal, Abraham Lincoln led the effort to free all 

12 slaves in the United States. 

13 (4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, 

14 with malice toward none and with charity for all. 

15 (5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice 

16 for his country, dying from an assassin’s bullet on 

17 April 15, 1865. 

18 (6) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anni19 versary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. 

20 (7) The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Com21 mission has been charged by Congress with planning 

22 the celebration of Lincoln’s bicentennial. 

23 (8) The proceeds from a commemorative coin 

24 will help fund the celebration and the continued 

25 study of the life of Lincoln. 
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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

4 shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, 

5 which shall—

6 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

8 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

9 copper. 

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

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

12 title 31, United States Code. 

13 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

14 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

15 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

16 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

17 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

19 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

20 and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. 

21 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

22 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

24 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2009’’; 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 the Commission of Fine Arts and the Abraham 

8 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and 

9 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

10 Committee. 

11 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

13 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

15 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

16 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

18 issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 

19 period beginning on January 1, 2009. 

20 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

23 of—

24 (1) the face value of the coins; 
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1 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 

2 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

5 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

8 discount. 

9 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

11 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

12 before the issuance of such coins. 

13 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre14 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea15 sonable discount. 

16 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

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

19 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f)(1), 

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

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

22 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Abraham 

23 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to further the work of 

24 the Commission. 
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1 (c) AUDITS.—The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial 

2 Commission shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

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

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