H. R. 3204

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 the

tercentenary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) Benjamin Franklin made historic contributions to the

development of our Nation in a number of fields: government,

business, science, communications, and the arts.

(2) Benjamin Franklin was the only Founding Father to

sign all of our Nation’s organizational documents.

(3) Benjamin Franklin spent his career as a successful

printer, which included printing the official currency for the

colonies of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland.

(4) Franklin’s ‘‘Essay on Paper Currency’’ of 1741 proposed

methods to fix the rate of exchange between the colonies and

Great Britain.

(5) Benjamin Franklin, during the American Revolution,

designed the first American coin, the ‘‘Continental’’ penny.

(6) Franklin made ‘‘A Penny Saved is A Penny Earned’’

a household phrase to describe the American virtues of hard

work and economical living.

(7) Franklin played a major role in the design of the Great

Seal of the United States, which appears on the One Dollar

Bill and other major American symbols.

(8) Before 1979, Benjamin Franklin was the only nonpresident of the United States whose image graced circulating

coin and paper currency.

(9) The official United States half dollar from 1948–1963

showed Franklin’s portrait, as designed by John Sinnock.

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

America’s commitment to free enterprise.

(11) The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia houses the first steam printing machine for coinage, used

by the United States Mint, which was placed in service in

1836, the 130th anniversary year of Franklin’s birth.

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

Science Museum in Philadelphia was named the Official

National Monument to the great patriot, scientist and inventor.
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(13) The Franklin Institute and four other major Franklinrelated Philadelphia cultural institutions joined hands in 2000

to organize international programs to commemorate the forthcoming 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth in 2006.

(14) The Congress passed the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Act in 2002, creating a panel of distinguished Americans,

with its Secretariat in Philadelphia, to work with the private

sector in recommending appropriate Tercentenary programs.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

(a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and

issue the following coins: (1) $1 SILVER COINS WITH YOUNGER FRANKLIN IMAGE ON

OBVERSE.—Not more than 250,000 $1 coins bearing the designs

specified in section 4(a)(2), each of which shall— (A) weigh 26.73 grams;

(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

(C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. (2) $1 SILVER COINS WITH OLDER FRANKLIN IMAGE ON

OBVERSE.—Not more than 250,000 $1 coins bearing the designs

specified in section 4(a)(3), each of which shall— (A) weigh 26.73 grams;

(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

(C) 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 section 5136 of title

31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall

be considered to be numismatic items.

(d) USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.—It is the sense of the Congress that the coins

minted under this Act should be struck at the United States Mint

at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the greatest extent possible.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

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

this Act shall be emblematic of the life and legacy of Benjamin

Franklin.

(2) $1 COINS WITH YOUNGER FRANKLIN IMAGE.— (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins minted under

section 3(a)(1) shall bear the image of Benjamin Franklin

as a young man.

(B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins minted under

section 3(a)(1) shall bear an image related to Benjamin

Franklin’s role as a patriot and a statesman. (3) $1 COINS WITH OLDER FRANKLIN IMAGE.— (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins minted under

section 3(a)(2) shall bear the image of Benjamin Franklin

as an older man.

(B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins minted under

section 3(a)(2) shall bear an image related to Benjamin

Franklin’s role in developing the early coins and currency

of the new country.

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

under this Act there shall be—
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(A) a designation of the value of the coin;

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

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee

established under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

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

be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.

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

coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2006, except

that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance,

before such date.

(c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No coins shall be

minted under this Act after December 31, 2006.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

(a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

the coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary

at a price equal to the face value, plus the cost of designing

and issuing such coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of

machinery, overhead expenses, and marketing).

(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the

coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.

(c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.— (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) SALES OF SINGLE COINS AND SETS OF COINS.—Coins of

each design specified under section 4 may be sold separately or

as a set containing a coin of each such design.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

(a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.

(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United

States Code, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary

from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly

paid by the Secretary to the Franklin Institute for purposes of

the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission.

(c) AUDITS.—The Franklin Institute 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 Institute pursuant

to 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
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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.