I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3277

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

of the 230th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, and to 

support construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2003

Mr. MURTHA (for himself, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. 

SNYDER, Mr. KLINE, and Mr. JANKLOW) 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 230th Anniversary of the 

United States Marine Corps, and to support construction 

of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.

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 ‘‘Marine Corps 230th 

5 Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) November 10, 2005, marks the 230th anni2 versary of the United States Marine Corps; 

3 (2) the United States Marine Corps has, over 

4 the course of its illustrious 230-year history, fought 

5 gallantly in defense of the United States; 

6 (3) the United States Marine Corps has, over 

7 the course of its storied history, established itself as 

8 the Nation’s military leader in amphibious warfare, 

9 and will continue in that role as the United States 

10 faces the challenges of the 21st Century; 

11 (4) the United States Marine Corps continues 

12 to exemplify the warrior ethos that has made it a 

13 fighting force of international repute; 

14 (5) all Americans should commemorate the leg15 acy of the United States Marine Corps so that the 

16 values embodied in the ‘‘Corps’’ are recognized for 

17 the significant contribution they have made in pro18 tecting the United States against its enemies; 

19 (6) in 2001, the Congress authorized the con20 struction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center, the 

21 purpose of which is to provide a multipurpose facil22 ity to be used for historical displays for the public 

23 viewing, curation, and storage of artifacts, research 

24 facilities, classrooms, offices, and associated activi-
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1 ties, consistent with the mission of the Marine 

2 Corps; 

3 (7) the Marine Corps Heritage Center is sched4 uled to open on November 10, 2005; 

5 (8) the United States should pay tribute to the 

6 230th anniversary of the United States Marine 

7 Corps by minting and issuing a commemorative sil8 ver dollar coin; and 

9 (9) the surcharge proceeds from the sale of a 

10 commemorative coin, which would have no net costs 

11 to the taxpayers, would raise valuable funding for 

12 the construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Cen13 ter. 

14 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

15 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas16 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

17 shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, each 

18 of which shall—

19 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

21 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

22 copper. 

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

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

25 title 31, United States Code. 
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1 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

4 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

5 warrior ethos of the United States Marine Corps. 

6 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

7 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be—

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

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

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

11 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer12 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

14 under this Act shall be—

15 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

16 with the Marine Corps Historical Division and the 

17 Commission of Fine Arts; and 

18 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

19 Committee. 

20 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

22 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

24 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

25 of the coins minted under this Act. 
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1 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

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

3 period beginning on January 1, 2005. 

4 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

6 shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 

7 of—

8 (1) the face value of the coins; 

9 (2) the surcharge provided in subsection (b) 

10 with respect to such coins; and 

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

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

13 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

14 (b) SURCHARGES.—All sales of coins issued under 

15 this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

16 (c) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 

17 sales of coins issued under this Act at a reasonable dis18 count. 

19 (d) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

21 prepaid orders for coins minted under this Act be22 fore the issuance of such coins. 

23 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre24 paid orders under paragraph (1) should be at a rea25 sonable discount. 
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1 SEC. 7. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES. 

2 (a) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 

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

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

5 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Marine 

6 Corps Heritage Foundation for the purposes of construc7 tion of the Marine Corps Heritage Center, as authorized 

8 by section 1 of Public Law 106–398 (114 Stat. 1654). 

9 (b) AUDIT.—The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation 

10 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

11 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

12 to the amounts received under subsection (a).

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