I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7861 

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

recognition of Paul Laurence Dunbar. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2024 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in recognition of Paul Laurence Dunbar. 

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 ‘‘Paul Laurence Dunbar 

5 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first 

9 influential African-American poets in American lit10 erature, writing such classics as ‘‘Majors and MiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:37 Apr 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7861.IH H7861

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1 nors’’ and ‘‘Lyrics of Lowly Life’’, and composing 

2 the lyrics to ‘‘In Dahomey’’, the first all-African3 American musical produced on Broadway; 

4 (2) Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 

5 27, 1872, to freed slaves Joshua and Matilda Mur6 phy Dunbar; 

7 (3) Paul Laurence Dunbar first published a se8 ries of poems at age 14 in the Dayton Herald; 

9 (4) in 1893, Paul Laurence Dunbar published 

10 a series of poems in a work entitled ‘‘Oak and Ivy’’; 

11 (5) by the late 1890s, Paul Laurence Dunbar 

12 had become a prominent author, having had his 

13 poems published in such major national newspapers 

14 and magazines as The New York Times; 

15 (6) over his career, Paul Laurence Dunbar pub16 lished more collections of poems, short stories, and 

17 novels; 

18 (7) Paul Laurence Dunbar died on February 9, 

19 1906, at 33 years of age; 

20 (8) Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School 

21 (hereafter referred to as Dunbar High School) was 

22 established in the District of Columbia in 1870 as 

23 the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, and 

24 was the first public high school for African-American 

25 students in the country; 


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1 (9) the Preparatory High School for Colored 

2 Youth was renamed in 1916 in honor of Paul Lau3 rence Dunbar; 

4 (10) the Dunbar Alumni Federation (hereafter 

5 in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Federation’’) was or6 ganized in 2002 to provide scholarships and other fi7 nancial support to students and graduates of Dun8 bar High School; 

9 (11) the Federation promotes and supports 

10 scholarship efforts, along with school and community 

11 activities; 

12 (12) the Federation leverages the prestige of 

13 Dunbar High School and its distinguished alumni to 

14 enhance the education of Dunbar High School stu15 dents; 

16 (13) the Federation promotes Dunbar High 

17 School alumni from more than 35 years of grad18 uating classes through their scholarship efforts, com19 munity activities, and other endeavors to support 

20 Dunbar High School; 

21 (14) the Federation helps finance such student 

22 development activities as the Debate Team, the 

23 Band, the Ski Team, the Junior Reserve Officer 

24 Training Corps, and athletics; 


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1 (15) the Federation funds faculty, staff, and 

2 parent appreciation and development activities; and 

3 (16) the Federation collects and assembles arti4 facts and memorabilia from alumni for historical 

5 and legacy displays to chronicle Dunbar High 

6 School’s rich history. 

7 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

8 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 

9 of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the Secretary of the Treasury 

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

11 mint and issue the following coins: 

12 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

13 coins, which shall— 

14 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

16 (C) contain not less than 90-percent gold. 

17 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

18 $1 coins, which shall— 

19 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

21 (C) contain not less than 90-percent silver. 

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

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

24 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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


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1 (C) be minted to the specifications for half2 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

3 31, United States Code. 

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

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

6 title 31, United States Code. 

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

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

9 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis10 matic items. 

11 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

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

13 under this Act shall be emblematic of Paul Laurence Dun14 bar. 

15 (b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each 

16 coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

17 (1) a designation of the denomination of the 

18 coin; 

19 (2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2026’’; and 

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

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

22 ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

24 under this Act shall be— 


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1 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

2 with— 

3 (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

4 (B) the Federation; and 

5 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative 

6 Coin Advisory Committee. 

7 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

9 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

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

12 period beginning on January 1, 2026. 

13 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

16 sum of— 

17 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

19 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

22 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

25 discount. 


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1 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

3 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

4 before the issuance of such coins. 

5 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre6 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea7 sonable discount. 

8 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

10 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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

13 (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol14 lar coin. 

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

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

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

18 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Federation. 

19 (c) EXEMPTION TO COMMEMORATIVE COIN PRO20 GRAM LIMITATIONS.—This Act shall— 

21 (1) not be subject to section 5112(m)(1) of title 

22 31, United States Code; and 

23 (2) not be a ‘‘commemorative coin program’’ for 

24 purposes of such section. 


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1 (d) AUDIT.—The recipient described under sub2 section (b) shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

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

4 regard to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

6 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec7 essary to ensure that— 

8 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

10 Government; and 

11 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

12 are disbursed to the recipient designated in section 

13 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

14 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

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

16 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 

17 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

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

Æ 


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