H. R. 2768

One Hundred Eighth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four

An Act

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

Justice John Marshall.

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 ‘‘John Marshall Commemorative

Coin Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress hereby finds as follows:

(1) John Marshall served as the Chief Justice of the United

States Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, the longest tenure

of any Chief Justice in the Nation’s history.

(2) John Marshall authored more than 500 opinions,

including virtually all of the most important cases decided

by the Supreme Court during his tenure.

(3) Under his leadership, the Supreme Court of the United

States gave shape to the fundamental principles of the Constitution, most notably the principle of judicial review.

(4) John Marshall’s service to the United States—not only

as a Chief Justice, but also as a soldier in the Revolutionary

War, as a Member of Congress, and as Secretary of State—

truly makes him one of the most important figures in our

Nation’s history.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

(a) DENOMINATION.—In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Chief Justice John Marshall, the Secretary

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

shall mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins, each of

which shall—

(1) weigh 26.73 grams;

(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

(3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

(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.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

(a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
H. R. 2768—2

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

this Act shall be emblematic of Chief Justice John Marshall

and his immeasurable contributions to the Constitution of the

United States and the Supreme Court of the United States.

(2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin minted

under this Act there shall be—

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

(B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2005’’; and

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

Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus

Unum’’.

(b) SELECTION.—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 the Supreme Court Historical

Society; and

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

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

be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.

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

may be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted

under this Act.

(c) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue

coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2005.

(d) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No coins may be

minted under this Act after December 31, 2005.

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, 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.

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

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

(d) MARKETING.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the Legacy

Fund of the Library of Congress, shall develop and implement

a marketing program to promote and sell the coins issued under

this Act both within the United States and internationally.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

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

shall include a surcharge of $10 per 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
H. R. 2768—3

the Secretary to the Supreme Court Historical Society for the purposes of—

(1) supporting historical research and educational programs

about the Supreme Court and the Constitution of the United

States and related topics;

(2) supporting fellowship programs, internships, and

docents at the Supreme Court; and

(3) collecting and preserving antiques, artifacts, and other

historical items related to the Supreme Court and the Constitution of the United States and related topics.

(c) AUDITS.—The Supreme Court Historical Society shall be

subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31,

United States Code, with regard to the amounts received by the

Society 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

2 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.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.