PUBLIC LAW 112–152—AUG. 3, 2012 126 STAT. 1155 

Public Law 112–152 

112th Congress 

An Act 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration 

of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

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 ‘‘National Baseball Hall of Fame 

Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

The Congress finds the following: 

(1) On June 12, 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame 

and Museum opened in Cooperstown, New York. Ty Cobb, 

Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus 

Wagner comprised the inaugural class of inductees. This class 

set the standard for all future inductees. Since 1939, just one 

percent of all Major League Baseball players have earned induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

(2) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is 

dedicated to preserving history, honoring excellence, and connecting generations through the rich history of our national 

pastime. Baseball has mirrored our Nation’s history since the 

Civil War, and is now an integral part of our Nation’s heritage. 

(3) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum chronicles the history of our national pastime and houses the world’s 

largest collection of baseball artifacts, including more than 

38,000 three dimensional artifacts, 3,000,000 documents, 

500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded media. This 

collection ensures that baseball history and its unique connection to American history will be preserved and recounted for 

future generations. 

(4) Since its opening in 1939, more than 14,000,000 baseball 

fans have visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and 

Museum to learn about the history of our national pastime 

and the game’s connection to the American experience. 

(5) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is 

an educational institution, reaching 10,000,000 Americans 

annually. Utilizing video conference technology, students and 

teachers participate in interactive lessons led by educators from 

the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. These awardwinning educational programs draw upon the wonders of baseball to reach students in classrooms nationwide. Each educational program uses baseball as a lens for teaching young 

Americans important lessons on an array of topics, including 

National 

Baseball Hall of 

Fame 

Commemorative 

Coin Act. 

31 USC 5112 

note. 

Aug. 3, 2012 

[H.R. 2527] 


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126 STAT. 1156 PUBLIC LAW 112–152—AUG. 3, 2012 

mathematics, geography, civil rights, women’s history, 

economics, industrial technology, arts, and communication. 

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration of the 

National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Secretary of the Treasury 

(hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint 

and issue the following coins: (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which 

shall— 

(A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

(B) have diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy. (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, 

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. 

(3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more than 750,000 halfdollar coins which shall— 

(A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

(B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

(C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar coins 

contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United States Code. 

(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 sections 5134 and 

5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this 

Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that, 

to the extent possible without significantly adding to the purchase 

price of the coins, the $1 coins and $5 coins minted under this 

Act should be produced in a fashion similar to the 2009 International Year of Astronomy coins issued by Monnaie de Paris, 

the French Mint, so that the reverse of the coin is convex to 

more closely resemble a baseball and the obverse concave, providing 

a more dramatic display of the obverse design chosen pursuant 

to section 4(c). 

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The design for the coins minted under this 

Act shall be— 

(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with— 

(A) the National Baseball Hall of Fame; 

(B) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

(2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory 

Committee. 

(b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin minted 

under this Act there shall be— 

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

(2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2014’’; and 

(3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In God We Trust’’, 

‘‘United States of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

(c) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR OBVERSE DESIGN.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall hold a competition 

to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins 


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PUBLIC LAW 112–152—AUG. 3, 2012 126 STAT. 1157 

minted under this Act, with such design being emblematic 

of the game of baseball. 

(2) SELECTION AND APPROVAL.—Proposals for the design 

of coins minted under this Act may be submitted in accordance 

with the design selection and approval process developed by 

the Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary. The Secretary shall encourage 3-dimensional models to be submitted 

as part of the design proposals. 

(3) PROPOSALS.—As part of the competition described in 

this subsection, the Secretary may accept proposals from artists, 

engravers of the United States Mint, and members of the 

general public. 

(4) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall determine compensation for the winning design under this subsection, which 

shall be not less than $5,000. The Secretary shall take into 

account this compensation amount when determining the sale 

price described in section 6(a). 

(d) REVERSE DESIGN.—The design on the common reverse of 

the coins minted under this Act shall depict a baseball similar 

to those used by Major League Baseball. 

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

(b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue coins 

minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning 

on January 1, 2014. 

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of— 

(1) the face value of the coins; 

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

to such coins; and 

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

labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, winning design compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount. 

(c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

(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. 

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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

(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

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

States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the 

sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by 

the Secretary to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance 

its operations. 


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126 STAT. 1158 PUBLIC LAW 112–152—AUG. 3, 2012 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2527: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 

Vol. 157 (2011): Oct. 25, 26, considered and passed House. 

Vol. 158 (2012): July 12, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

July 19, House concurred in Senate amendment. 

Æ 

(c) AUDITS.—The National Baseball Hall of Fame shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 

United States Code, with regard to the amounts received under 

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 

commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 

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. 

SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary 

to ensure that— 

(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not result 

in any net cost to the United States Government; and 

(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are disbursed 

to any recipient designated in section 7 until the total cost 

of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized by this 

Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, winning 

design compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent 

with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

Code. 

SEC. 9. BUDGET COMPLIANCE. 

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 

with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined 

by reference to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of 

PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for printing in the 

Congressional Record by the Chairman of the Committee on the 

Budget of the House of Representatives, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 

Approved August 3, 2012. 


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