I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1933

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

of the bicentennial of the Old State House of Connecticut.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 1995

Mrs. KENNELLY (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. SHAYS,

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, and Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Banking

and Financial Services

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins

in commemoration of the bicentennial of the Old State

House of Connecticut.

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; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Connecticut Old State House Bicentennial Commemora6 tive Coin Act’’.

7 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress hereby finds the fol8 lowing:
2

•HR 1933 IH

1 (1) The history of the Old State House in

2 Hartford, Connecticut, is intrinsically linked to the

3 history of the city of Hartford, the State of Con4 necticut, and the United States.

5 (2) The site of the Old State House is where

6 the Colony of Connecticut was founded and where

7 General George Washington first met Comte de Ro8 chambeau in America to begin plotting the Yorktown

9 strategy to win the Revolutionary War.

10 (3) The Old State House, designed by Charles

11 Bulfinch, is a prime example of 18th century archi12 tecture and was designated a Registered National

13 Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (4) Since 1979, the Old State House Associa15 tion has operated the Old State House as a museum,

16 public meeting house, and focal point for downtown

17 Hartford.

18 (5) The Old State House Association initiated

19 an extensive renovation in 1992 to revitalize the

20 building and its surroundings and to expand its edu21 cational, recreational, and cultural services.

22 (6) The new Old State House will feature a

23 Museum of Connecticut History, a market on Main

24 Street on the building’s west side, and a Peace Park

25 on its east side.
3

•HR 1933 IH

1 (7) The new Old State House will be rededi2 cated on its 200th birthday in May 1996, when it

3 will once again become a focal point and meeting

4 place for Hartford, Connecticut, and the entire New

5 England region.

6 SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

7 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—In commemoration of the bi8 centennial of the Old State House in Hartford, Connecti9 cut, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act

10 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue not

11 more than 700,000 1 dollar coins, which shall—

12 (1) weigh 26.73 grams;

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

14 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent

15 copper.

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

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

18 title 31, United States Code.

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

20 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted

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

22 SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.

23 The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins

24 under this Act only from stockpiles established under the

25 Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.
4

•HR 1933 IH

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 Old State House and the role of the Old State

6 House in the history of the city of Hartford, the

7 State of Connecticut, and the United States.

8 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On

9 each coin minted under this Act there shall be—

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

11 (B) an inscription of the years ‘‘1796–

12 1996’’; and

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

14 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer15 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.

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

17 under this Act shall be—

18 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation

19 with the Old State House Association, the National

20 Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Commission

21 of Fine Arts; and

22 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative

23 Coin Advisory Committee.

24 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

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

26 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.
5

•HR 1933 IH

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

2 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality

3 of the coins minted under this Act.

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

5 issue coins minted under this Act only during the period

6 beginning on January 1, 1996, and ending on December

7 31, 1996.

8 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

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

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

11 of—

12 (1) the face value of the coins;

13 (2) the surcharge provided in subsection (d)

14 with respect to such coins; and

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

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

17 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).

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

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

20 discount.

21 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.—

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

23 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act

24 before the issuance of such coins.
6

•HR 1933 IH

1 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre2 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea3 sonable discount.

4 (d) SURCHARGES.—All sales shall include a sur5 charge of $10 per coin.

6 SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULA7 TIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

9 (b), no provision of law governing procurement or public

10 contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods

11 and services necessary for carrying out the provisions of

12 this Act.

13 (b) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.—Sub14 section (a) shall not relieve any person entering into a con15 tract under the authority of this Act from complying with

16 any law relating to equal employment opportunity.

17 SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—All surcharges received by the

19 Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall

20 be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Old State House

21 Association for use in—

22 (1) the construction, renovation, and preserva23 tion involving the Old State House, including the

24 Museum of Connecticut History, the Main Street

25 Market, and the Peace Park;
7

•HR 1933 IH

1 (2) the education of the general public about

2 the central role of the Old State House in the his3 tory of Connecticut and the United States through

4 exhibits, programs, and other educational activities;

5 and

6 (3) the maintenance of the Old State House as

7 a central hub for recreational, cultural, and commer8 cial activities in the city of Hartford.

9 (b) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United

10 States shall have the right to examine such books, records,

11 documents, and other data of the Old State House Asso12 ciation as may be related to the expenditures of amounts

13 paid under subsection (a).

14 SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.

15 (a) NO NET COST TO THE GOVERNMENT.—The Sec16 retary shall take such actions as may be necessary to en17 sure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will

18 not result in any net cost to the United States Govern19 ment.

20 (b) PAYMENT FOR COINS.—A coin shall not be issued

21 under this Act unless the Secretary has received—

22 (1) full payment for the coin;

23 (2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to in24 demnify the United States for full payment; or
8

•HR 1933 IH

1 (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to

2 the Secretary from a depository institution whose

3 deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insur4 ance Corporation or the National Credit Union Ad5 ministration Board.

Æ