II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3204

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2004

Received 

AN ACT

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the tercentenary of the birth of 

Benjamin Franklin, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Benjamin Franklin 

3 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Benjamin Franklin made historic contribu7 tions to the development of our Nation in a number 

8 of fields: government, business, science, communica9 tions, and the arts. 

10 (2) Benjamin Franklin was the only Founding 

11 Father to sign all of our Nation’s organizational 

12 documents. 

13 (3) Benjamin Franklin spent his career as a 

14 successful printer, which included printing the offi15 cial currency for the colonies of Pennsylvania, Dela16 ware, New Jersey and Maryland. 

17 (4) Franklin’s ‘‘Essay on Paper Currency’’ of 

18 1741 proposed methods to fix the rate of exchange 

19 between the colonies and Great Britain. 

20 (5) Benjamin Franklin, during the American 

21 Revolution, designed the first American coin, the 

22 ‘‘Continental’’ penny. 

23 (6) Franklin made ‘‘A Penny Saved is A Penny 

24 Earned’’ a household phrase to describe the Amer25 ican virtues of hard work and economical living. 
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1 (7) Franklin played a major role in the design 

2 of the Great Seal of the United States, which ap3 pears on the One Dollar Bill and other major Amer4 ican symbols. 

5 (8) Before 1979, Benjamin Franklin was the 

6 only non-president of the United States whose image 

7 graced circulating coin and paper currency. 

8 (9) The official United States half dollar from 

9 1948–1963 showed Franklin’s portrait, as designed 

10 by John Sinnock. 

11 (10) Franklin’s ‘‘Way to Wealth’’ has come to 

12 symbolize America’s commitment to free enterprise. 

13 (11) The Franklin Institute Science Museum in 

14 Philadelphia houses the first steam printing machine 

15 for coinage, used by the United States Mint, which 

16 was placed in service in 1836, the 130th anniversary 

17 year of Franklin’s birth. 

18 (12) In 1976, Franklin Hall in The Franklin 

19 Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia was 

20 named the Official National Monument to the great 

21 patriot, scientist and inventor. 

22 (13) The Franklin Institute and four other 

23 major Franklin-related Philadelphia cultural institu24 tions joined hands in 2000 to organize international 
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1 programs to commemorate the forthcoming 300th 

2 anniversary of Franklin’s birth in 2006. 

3 (14) The Congress passed the Benjamin Frank4 lin Tercentenary Act in 2002, creating a panel of 

5 distinguished Americans, with its Secretariat in 

6 Philadelphia, to work with the private sector in rec7 ommending appropriate Tercentenary programs. 

8 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

9 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

11 shall mint and issue the following coins: 

12 (1) $1 SILVER COINS WITH YOUNGER FRANKLIN

13 IMAGE ON OBVERSE.—Not more than 250,000 $1 

14 coins bearing the designs specified in section 

15 4(a)(2), each of which shall—

16 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

18 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per19 cent copper. 

20 (2) $1 SILVER COINS WITH OLDER FRANKLIN

21 IMAGE ON OBVERSE.—Not more than 250,000 $1 

22 coins bearing the designs specified in section 

23 4(a)(3), each of which shall—

24 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

25 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
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1 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per2 cent copper. 

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

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

5 title 31, United States Code. 

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

7 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

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

9 (d) USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT PHILA10 DELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.—It is the sense of the Con11 gress that the coins minted under this Act should be 

12 struck at the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsyl13 vania, to the greatest extent possible. 

14 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

15 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

17 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

18 and legacy of Benjamin Franklin. 

19 (2) $1 COINS WITH YOUNGER FRANKLIN

20 IMAGE.—

21 (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins 

22 minted under section 3(a)(1) shall bear the 

23 image of Benjamin Franklin as a young man. 

24 (B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins 

25 minted under section 3(a)(1) shall bear an 
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1 image related to Benjamin Franklin’s role as a 

2 patriot and a statesman. 

3 (3) $1 COINS WITH OLDER FRANKLIN IMAGE.—

4 (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins 

5 minted under section 3(a)(2) shall bear the 

6 image of Benjamin Franklin as an older man. 

7 (B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins 

8 minted under section 3(a)(2) shall bear an 

9 image related to Benjamin Franklin’s role in 

10 developing the early coins and currency of the 

11 new country. 

12 (4) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

13 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

15 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2006’’; and 

16 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

17 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer18 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

19 (b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

20 under this Act shall be—

21 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

22 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

23 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

24 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

25 31, United States Code. 
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1 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

3 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

4 (b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

5 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

6 1, 2006, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of 

7 such coins, without issuance, before such date. 

8 (c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

9 coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31, 

10 2006. 

11 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

12 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold 

14 by the Secretary at a price equal to the face value, plus 

15 the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including 

16 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex17 penses, and marketing). 

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

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

20 discount. 

21 (c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.—

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

23 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

24 before the issuance of such coins. 
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1 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre2 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea3 sonable discount. 

4 (d) SALES OF SINGLE COINS AND SETS OF COINS.—

5 Coins of each design specified under section 4 may be sold 

6 separately or as a set containing a coin of each such de7 sign. 

8 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

9 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales shall include 

10 a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

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

12 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges which are re13 ceived by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under 

14 this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the 

15 Franklin Institute for purposes of the Benjamin Franklin 

16 Tercentenary Commission. 

17 (c) AUDITS.—The Franklin Institute shall be subject 

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

19 United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 

20 by the Institute pursuant to subsection (b). 

21 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

22 no 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 2 

2 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

3 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 

4 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec5 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

6 this subsection.

Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 

2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.