I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3526

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

of David Crockett and his contributions to American history. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

Mr. DUNCAN 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 David Crockett and his contributions to American history.

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 ‘‘David ‘Davy’ Crockett 

5 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The year 2005 marks the 175th anniversary 

9 of a courageous vote on the floors of Congress by 

10 David Crockett. 
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1 (2) In 1830, during the 21st Congress, Rep2 resentative David Crockett rose to speak out in op3 position to a bill for the funding of the removal of 

4 Southeastern Native American tribes to the west of 

5 the Mississippi River. 

6 (3) He was the only Member of Congress from 

7 his State to oppose the bill, was fully aware that the 

8 majority of his constituents favored the bill, and un9 derstood that he was providing his political foes with 

10 an issue that they could—and did—use to attack 

11 him. 

12 (4) Undaunted by threats of political retalia13 tion, he refused to support a bill designed to remove 

14 what he called ‘‘the poor remnants of a once power15 ful people’’ from their ancestral homes, claiming in16 stead that he would ‘‘sooner be honestly and politi17 cally damned, than hypocritically immortalized’’. 

18 (5) The year 2005 also marks the 50th anniver19 sary of the release of a feature-length motion picture 

20 that returned David Crockett to the position he had 

21 enjoyed 125 years earlier as the classic image of the 

22 American frontier and the best reflection of the fron23 tier spirit. 
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1 (6) As ‘‘Davy’’ Crockett, he was popularized in 

2 movies and television, and he became a cultural icon 

3 of the 1950s. 

4 (7) David Crockett first appeared on the na5 tional scene as the representative of a new, proud, 

6 and irreverent American character and culture, 

7 unique and apart from European customs and 

8 mores. 

9 (8) As a young man from the backwoods of 

10 East Tennessee, David Crockett mastered the skills 

11 necessary for life on the American frontier, including 

12 marksmanship and hunting. 

13 (9) The first rifle he owned, with which he de14 veloped those skills, is included in the collection at 

15 the East Tennessee Historical Society and will be 

16 featured prominently when the Historical Society 

17 opens its expanded museum exhibit in 2005. 

18 (10) His quick wit and natural leadership abili19 ties allowed him to move from the humblest of set20 tings to the halls of Congress. 

21 (11) David Crockett was a committed public 

22 servant serving 2 terms in the Tennessee General 

23 Assembly and 3 terms in the United States House 

24 of Representatives. 
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1 (12) During the last 3 months of his life, he 

2 fought with others to secure independence for the 

3 Republic of Texas before he died a hero’s death at 

4 the Alamo at the age of 49. 

5 (13) His life was chronicled during and imme6 diately after his lifetime through theatrical produc7 tions, biographies, and in a series of almanacs from 

8 1835–1856, galvanizing his persona as a true Amer9 ican folk hero. 

10 (14) He has been the subject of at least 17 mo11 tion pictures and 12 television programs during the 

12 20th century. 

13 (15) David Crockett personified the spirit of 

14 independence, individualism, and justice in his oppo15 sition to the Indian removal bill, a position that was 

16 opposed by powerful political opponents, unpopular 

17 with a majority of his own constituents, but dedi18 cated to principle. 

19 (16) He was guided in this, as he was through20 out his life, by his best-known maxim: ‘‘Be always 

21 sure you are right, then go ahead.’’.

22 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

23 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of the 

24 achievements and legacy of David Crockett, the Secretary 
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1 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

2 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins: 

3 (1) $5 GOLDCOINS.—Not more than 100,000 

4 $5 coins, which shall—

5 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

7 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

8 alloy. 

9 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 

10 $1 coins, which shall—

11 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

13 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per14 cent copper. 

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

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

17 title 31, United States Code. 

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

19 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

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

21 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

22 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

24 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 
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1 legacy of David Crockett and his importance to Ten2 nessee, Texas, and the history of the United States.

3 (2) DESIGNATION ANDINSCRIPTIONS.—On 

4 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

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

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

8 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer9 ica’’, ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’, and ‘‘David ‘Davy’ 

10 Crockett 1786–1836’’. 

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

12 under this Act shall be—

13 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

14 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Board of 

15 the East Tennessee Historical Society; and 

16 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

17 Committee. 

18 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

20 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

22 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

23 of the coins minted under this Act. 

24 (c) PERIODFOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

25 issue coins minted under this Act only during the period 
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1 beginning on January 1, 2005, and ending on December 

2 31, 2005. 

3 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

6 of—

7 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

9 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

12 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

15 discount. 

16 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

18 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

19 before the issuance of such coins. 

20 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre21 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea22 sonable discount. 

23 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

25 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 
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1 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 

2 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 

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

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

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

6 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the East Ten7 nessee Historical Society to be used—

8 (1) to fund capital improvements for The East 

9 Tennessee Historical Society and its museum; and 

10 (2) to establish an endowment to be a perma11 nent source of support for The East Tennessee His12 torical Society and its vital mission of preserving, in13 terpreting, and promoting the history of Tennessee, 

14 focusing on East Tennessee. 

15 (c) AUDITS.—The East Tennessee Historical Society 

16 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 

17 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

18 to the amounts received by the Foundation under sub19 section (b).

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