115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1182 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of the 100th anniversary of 

The American Legion. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as ‘‘The American Legion 

3 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds that— 

6 (1) on March 15, 1919, The American Legion 

7 was founded in Paris, France, by members of the 

8 American Expeditionary Force occupying Europe 

9 after World War I and concerned about the welfare 

10 of their comrades and communities upon their re11 turn to the United States; 

12 (2) on September 16, 1919, Congress chartered 

13 The American Legion, which quickly grew to become 

14 the largest veterans service organization in the 

15 United States; 

16 (3) The American Legion conferences in Wash17 ington, DC, in 1923 and 1924 crafted the first 

18 United States Flag Code, which was adopted in 

19 schools, States, cities and counties prior to being en20 acted in 1942, establishing the proper use, display, 

21 and respect for the colors of the United States; 

22 (4) during World War II, The American Legion 

23 developed and presented to Congress its case for 

24 vastly improved support for medically discharged, 

25 disabled veterans, which ultimately became the Serv26 icemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 284; 
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1 chapter 268), better known as the G.I. Bill of 

2 Rights, and was drafted by former American Legion 

3 National Commander Harry W. Colmery in Wash4 ington’s Mayflower Hotel; 

5 (5) through the leadership and advocacy of The 

6 American Legion, the G.I. Bill was enacted in June 

7 1944, which led to monumental changes in United 

8 States society, including the democratization of high9 er education, home ownership for average people in 

10 the United States, better VA hospitals, business and 

11 farm loans for veterans, and the ability to appeal 

12 conditions of military discharge; 

13 (6) defying those who argued the G.I. Bill 

14 would break the Treasury, according to various re15 searchers, the G.I. Bill provided a tremendous re16 turn on investment of $7 to the United States econ17 omy for every $1 spent on the program, triggering 

18 a half-century of prosperity in the United States; 

19 (7) after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, The Amer20 ican Legion established the National Emergency 

21 Fund to provide immediate cash relief for veterans 

22 who have been affected by natural disasters; 

23 (8) American Legion National Emergency Fund 

24 grants after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, 

25 for instance, exceeded $1,700,000; 
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1 (9) The American Legion fought to see the Vet2 erans Administration elevated to Cabinet-level status 

3 as the Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring 

4 support for veterans would be set at the highest level 

5 of the Federal Government, as a priority issue for 

6 the President; 

7 (10) after a decades-long struggle to improve 

8 the adjudication process for veterans disputing 

9 claims decisions, The American Legion helped shape 

10 and introduce the Veterans Reassurance Act to cre11 ate a venue for judicial review of veterans’ appeals; 

12 (11) building on these efforts, legislation was 

13 passed in 1988 to create the United States Court of 

14 Veterans Appeals, today known as the United States 

15 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; 

16 (12) The American Legion created the Amer17 ican Legacy Scholarship Fund for children of mili18 tary members killed on active duty on or after Sep19 tember 11, 2001; 

20 (13) in 2016, The American Legion’s National 

21 Executive Committee amended the original scholar22 ship criteria to include children of veterans with 50 

23 percent or greater VA disability ratings; 

24 (14) President George W. Bush signed into law 

25 the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act 
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1 (title V of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 

2 2008; 122 Stat. 2357), a next-generation G.I. Bill 

3 strongly supported by The American Legion and the 

4 most comprehensive educational benefits package 

5 since the original G.I. Bill of Rights was enacted in 

6 1944; 

7 (15) in August 2018, The American Legion will 

8 begin its centennial recognition at the 100th Na9 tional Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the 

10 site of the first American Legion National Conven11 tion; and 

12 (16) in March 2019, the organization will cele13 brate its 100th birthday in Paris, France, and Sep14 tember 16, 2019, will mark the 100th anniversary of 

15 The American Legion’s Federal charter. 

16 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

17 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 

18 of the 100th anniversary of The American Legion, the 

19 Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred 

20 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following 

21 coins: 

22 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

23 coins, which shall— 

24 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

25 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 
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1 (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold. 

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

3 $1 coins, which shall— 

4 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

5 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

6 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

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

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

9 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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

11 (C) be minted to the specifications for half12 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

13 31, United States Code. 

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

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

16 title 31, United States Code. 

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

18 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

19 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis20 matic items. 

21 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

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

23 under this Act shall be emblematic of The American Le24 gion. 
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1 (b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each 

2 coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

3 (1) a designation of the denomination of the 

4 coin; 

5 (2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2019’’; and 

6 (3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In 

7 God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and 

8 ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

9 (c) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

10 under this Act shall be— 

11 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

12 with— 

13 (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

14 (B) the Adjutant of The American Legion, 

15 as defined in the constitution and bylaws of 

16 The American Legion; and 

17 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative 

18 Coin Advisory Committee. 

19 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

21 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

22 (b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

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

24 period beginning on January 1, 2019. 
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1 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

3 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price based upon the 

4 sum of— 

5 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

7 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

10 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

13 discount. 

14 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

16 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

17 before the issuance of such coins. 

18 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre19 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea20 sonable discount. 

21 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

23 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

24 (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 

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

26 described under section 3(a)(2). 
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1 (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol2 lar coin. 

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

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

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

6 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to The American 

7 Legion for costs related to— 

8 (1) promoting the importance of, and caring 

9 for, those who have served in uniform, ensuring they 

10 receive proper health care and disability benefits 

11 earned through military service; 

12 (2) promoting the importance of, and caring 

13 for, those who are still serving in the Armed Forces; 

14 (3) promoting the importance of maintaining 

15 the patriotic values, morals, culture, and citizenship 

16 of the United States; and 

17 (4) promoting the importance of maintaining 

18 strong families, assistance for at-risk children, and 

19 activities that promote their healthy and wholesome 

20 development. 

21 (c) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), no 

22 surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

24 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

25 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro-
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1 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual com2 memorative coin program issuance limitation under sec3 tion 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in ef4 fect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec5 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

6 this subsection. 

7 (d) AUDIT.—Each recipient described in subsection 

8 (b) shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

9 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

10 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

11 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

12 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec13 essary to ensure that— 

14 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

16 Government; and 

17 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

18 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

19 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

20 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

21 materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 

22 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 
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1 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

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

Passed the Senate August 3, 2017. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1182 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

anniversary of The American Legion. commemorative coins in recognition of the 100th