I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3477

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

of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2003

Mr. CALVERT 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 recipients of the Congressional 

Medal of Honor.

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 ‘‘Congressional Medal 

5 of Honor Memorial Coin Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Congressional Medal of Honor is the 

9 highest award for valor that can be bestowed upon 

10 a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. 
2

•HR 3477 IH 

1 (2) The recipients of the Congressional Medal 

2 of Honor have conspicuously distinguished them3 selves by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of 

4 their lives above and beyond the call of duty. 

5 (3) The National Medal of Honor Memorial at 

6 Riverside National Cemetery is a fitting monument 

7 to the heroes who have received the Congressional 

8 Medal of Honor. 

9 (4) The National Medal of Honor Memorial at 

10 Riverside National Cemetery honors the service and 

11 sacrifice of each of the recipients of the Congres12 sional Medal of Honor. 

13 (5) The $1,700,000 required to build the Na14 tional Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside Na15 tional Cemetery was raised solely through donations 

16 to the Riverside National Cemetery Congressional 

17 Medal of Honor Memorial Committee. 

18 (6) Substantial support exists among the people 

19 of the United States for the minting and issuance of 

20 coins in commemoration of the recipients of the Con21 gressional Medal of Honor. 

22 (7) The people of the United States will be able 

23 to keep and hold the coins minted under this Act as 

24 a personal memorial to the many heroes who have 

25 received the Congressional Medal of Honor. 
3

•HR 3477 IH 

1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of the re3 cipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Sec4 retary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to 

5 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following: 

6 (1) $5 Gold Coins.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

7 coins, each of which shall—

8 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

10 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

11 alloy. 

12 (2) $1 Silver Coins.—Not more than 250,000 

13 $1 coins, each of which shall—

14 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

16 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per17 cent copper. 

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

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

20 title 31, United States Code. 

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

22 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

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

24 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—The design of the coins minted 

26 under this Act shall be emblematic of the values and abili-
4

•HR 3477 IH 

1 ties necessary to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor, 

2 such as gallantry and intrepidity. 

3 (b) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin 

4 minted under this Act there shall be—

5 (1) a designation of the value of the coin; 

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

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

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

9 ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

11 under this Act shall be—

12 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

13 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

14 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

15 Committee. 

16 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

18 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

20 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

21 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

23 issue coins minted under this Act only during the period 

24 beginning on January 1, 2005, and ending on December 

25 31, 2005. 
5

•HR 3477 IH 

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 equal to the sum 

4 of—

5 (1) the face value of the coins; 

6 (2) the surcharges required by 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.—The Secretary shall accept 

15 prepaid orders received before the issuance of the coins 

16 minted under this Act. The sale prices with respect to such 

17 prepaid orders shall be at a reasonable discount. 

18 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

19 (a) ASSESSMENT.—Any sale by the Secretary of a 

20 coin minted under this Act shall include a surcharge as 

21 follows: 

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

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

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

25 title 31, United States Code, the proceeds from the sur26 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 
6

•HR 3477 IH 

1 issued under this Act shall be paid promptly by the Sec2 retary to the Riverside National Cemetery Support Com3 mittee, a nonprofit organization established under the laws 

4 of the State of California, for the purposes of—

5 (1) maintaining the National Medal of Honor 

6 Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery; and 

7 (2) constructing and maintaining such memo8 rials as the Riverside National Cemetery Support 

9 Committee and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 may jointly designate.

Æ