II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1639 

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

of the founding of America’s National Parks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2005 

Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. 

THOMAS, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. COCHRAN, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the founding of America’s National 

Parks, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Park Anni5 versaries-Great American Spaces Commemorative Coin 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The National Park Foundation is the con2 gressionally-chartered nonprofit partner of America’s 

3 National Parks. 

4 (2) The mission of the National Park Founda5 tion is to strengthen the enduring connection be6 tween the American people and their National Parks 

7 by raising private funds, making strategic grants, 

8 creating innovative partnerships, and increasing 

9 public awareness of National Parks. 

10 (3) The parks represented in this program rep11 resent some of the most beloved and treasured Na12 tional Parks in America. 

13 (4) The National Park Service was established 

14 in 1916, to preserve and protect great scenic parks 

15 such as Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite 

16 National Park, and to manage battlefields such as 

17 Gettysburg National Military Park and historical 

18 sites such as the Lincoln Memorial. 

19 (5) Theodore Roosevelt said that nothing short 

20 of defending this country in wartime ‘‘compares in 

21 importance with the great task of leaving this land 

22 even a better land for our descendants than it is for 

23 us’’. 

24 (6) National Parks established under the presi25 dency of Theodore Roosevelt, such as Grand Canyon 
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1 National Park and Devils Tower National Monu2 ment, are the embodiment of that ideal. 

3 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

4 (a) $1 SILVER COINS FOR NATIONAL PARKS OB5 SERVING HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES OF THEIR FOUND6 ING.—The Secretary of the Treasury (in this Act referred 

7 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue not more than 

8 300,000 $1 coins for each of the National Parks specified 

9 in section 4(c), each of which shall— 

10 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

12 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

13 copper. 

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

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

16 title 31, United States Code. 

17 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

18 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

19 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis20 matic 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 developed in consulta25 tion with the National Park Foundation, and shall 
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1 be emblematic of the National Park being com2 memorated on each coin. 

3 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—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 in which the 

7 coin is minted; and 

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

9 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer10 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

12 minted under this Act shall be— 

13 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

14 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the National 

15 Park Foundation; and 

16 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

17 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

18 31, United States Code. 

19 (c) NATIONAL PARKS TO BE COMMEMORATED.—The 

20 National Parks to be commemorated in accordance with 

21 this Act, the year of commemoration, and the anniversary 

22 to be observed are as follows: 

Year of Issuance National Park or Park 

Service Anniversary 

2007 ................................................... Devils Tower National 

Monument.

100th 

2008 ................................................... Grand Canyon National 

Park.

100th 

2010 ................................................... Glacier National Park .... 100th 
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Year of Issuance National Park or Park 

Service Anniversary 

2011 ................................................... Lincoln Memorial ........... 100th 

2015 ................................................... Yosemite National Park 125th 

2015 ................................................... Rocky Mountain National Park.100th 

2016 ................................................... National Park Service .... 100th 

2017 ................................................... Denali National Park .... 100th 

2018 ................................................... Acadia National Park .... 100th 

2019 ................................................... Zion National Park ........ 100th 

2020 ................................................... Gettysburg National 

Military Park.

125th 

1 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

3 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

5 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

6 of the coins minted under this Act. 

7 (c) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

8 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

9 1 of the year of issuance, as specified in section 4(c), ex10 cept that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, 

11 without issuance, before such date. 

12 (d) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

13 coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31 

14 of the year of issuance specified in section 4(c). 

15 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

16 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold 

18 by the Secretary at a price equal to the face value, plus 

19 the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including 
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1 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex2 penses, and marketing). 

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

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

5 discount. 

6 (c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.— 

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

8 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

9 before the issuance of such coins. 

10 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre11 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea12 sonable discount. 

13 (d) SALES OF SINGLE COINS AND SETS OF COINS.— 

14 Coins of each design specified under section 4(c) may be 

15 sold separately or as a set containing other coins author16 ized by this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

18 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales of coins 

19 issued under this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per 

20 coin. 

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

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

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

24 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the National 

25 Park Foundation for use as follows: 
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1 (1) 50 percent of the surcharges received shall 

2 be used by the National Park Foundation in support 

3 of all National Parks. 

4 (2) 50 percent of the surcharges received shall 

5 be used by the National Park Foundation for the 

6 benefit of the National Parks designated in section 

7 4(c) (in addition to any amount allocable to any 

8 such Park from expenditures of amounts under 

9 paragraph (1)). 

10 (c) AUDITS.—The National Park Foundation shall be 

11 subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of 

12 title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts 

13 received by the Foundation under subsection (b). 

14 SEC. 8. 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 
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1 (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to 

2 the Secretary from a depository institution, the de3 posits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit 

4 Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union 

5 Administration Board. 

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