I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2760 

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

of the centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and 

the Panama Canal, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 19, 2013 

Ms. PELOSI (for herself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. LEE of California, 

Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, and 

Mr. THOMPSON of California) 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 the centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and the Panama Canal, 

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 ‘‘Panama Canal and 

5 Pan-Pacific Exhibition Centennial Celebration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Panama Canal, which cuts across the 

2 Isthmus of Panama, was built between 1890 and 

3 1914. It was the world’s greatest engineering feat of 

4 its time and required a labor force of almost 40,000. 

5 (2) President Theodore Roosevelt, recognizing 

6 the value of a canal, led the United States in buying 

7 the equipment and concession to build the canal for 

8 $40 million, and championed the effort that over9 came malaria and immense logistical problems. The 

10 Canal opened on August 15, 1914—401 years after 

11 Spanish explorer Vasco Nun ̃ez de Balboa first 

12 crossed Panama. 

13 (3) Stretching 51 miles, the Panama Canal con14 nected the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, 

15 saving sailors a dangerous 8,000-mile journey 

16 around Cape Horn and through the Straits of Ma17 gellan, and cutting in half the time previously re18 quired to sail between the oceans. 

19 (4) The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Ex20 position was a world’s fair held in San Francisco, 

21 California. The Exposition ran from February 20 

22 until December 4, 1915. 

23 (5) The Exposition commemorated the comple24 tion of the Panama Canal and the 400th anniver25 sary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa. 


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1 (6) Congress authorized the United States Mint 

2 to issue five different coins dated 1915 in connection 

3 with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. 

4 The coins represent a high-water mark for American 

5 commemorative coins. Produced at the San Fran6 cisco Mint, these were the first United States com7 memorative coins to bear the motto ‘‘In God We 

8 Trust’’, and included the silver Panama-Pacific half 

9 dollar and four gold coins in denominations of one 

dollar, 21 10 ⁄2 dollars, a 50-dollar round coin, and a 

11 unique 50-dollar octagonal coin. 

12 (7) The octagonal $50 gold piece was the larg13 est coin authorized by Congress, and the first mint14 ed since 1852 in a shape other than round. 

15 (8) The United States should mark the centen16 nial of this important event in San Francisco and 

17 the monumental achievement of the opening of the 

18 Panama Canal. 

19 (9) The proceeds from the surcharge on the 

20 sale of such commemorative coins will assist in sup21 porting the educational programs of the San Fran22 cisco Museum and Historical Society. 

23 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

24 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas25 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 


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1 shall mint and issue the following coins, notwithstanding 

2 section 5112(a) of title 31, United States Code: 

3 (1) $5 OCTAGONAL GOLD COINS.—Not more 

4 than 75,000 $5 coins, which shall— 

5 (A) be octagonal in shape; 

6 (B) weigh 8.359 grams; 

7 (C) have a distance between two opposing 

8 vertices of 0.850 inches; and 

9 (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 per10 cent alloy. 

11 (2) $5 ROUND GOLD COINS.—Not more than 

12 75,000 $5 coins, which shall— 

13 (A) be round in shape; 

14 (B) weigh 8.359 grams; 

15 (C) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

16 (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 per17 cent alloy. 

18 (3) TWO AND ONE-HALF DOLLAR GOLD

19 COINS.—Not more than 50,000 two and one-half 

20 dollar coins, which shall— 

21 (A) weigh 4.18 grams; 

22 (B) have a diameter of 0.7087 inches; and 

23 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

24 copper. 


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1 (4) $1 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $1 

2 coins, which shall— 

3 (A) weigh 1.67 grams; 

4 (B) have a diameter of 0.5906 inches; and 

5 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

6 copper. 

7 (5) HALF DOLLAR SILVER COINS.—Not more 

8 than 250,000 half dollar coins, which shall— 

9 (A) weigh 12.5 grams; 

10 (B) have a diameter of 1.2047 inches; and 

11 (C) contain .999 fine silver. 

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

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

14 title 31, United States Code. 

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

16 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

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

18 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

19 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

21 minted under this Act should be close likenesses of 

22 the five coins issued by the San Francisco Mint at 

23 the opening of the Pan-Pacific Exposition. 

24 (2) SPECIFIC DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (A) $5 GOLD COINS.—The $5 octagonal 

2 gold coins minted under this Act and the $5 

3 round gold coins minted under this Act shall be 

4 a close likeness of the octagonal Panama-Pa5 cific Exposition $50 gold coin and the round 

6 Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin, re7 spectively. Such coins— 

8 (i) shall have an obverse depicting the 

9 head of the goddess Minerva, with a Corin10 thian-style helmet, enclosed in a ring of 

11 beads; 

12 (ii) with a reverse— 

13 (I) depicting an owl perched on a 

14 pine bough complete with four pine 

15 cones and multiple sprigs of pine nee16 dles surrounded by the same ring of 

17 beads depicted on the obverse; and 

18 (II) depicting, outside this ring, 

19 the inscriptions ‘‘PANAMA-PACIFIC 

20 EXPOSITION’’ and ‘‘SAN FRAN21 CISCO’’ in a single line of text cir22 cling the entire rim, with the words 

23 separated by dots; and 

24 (iii) with respect to the octagonal 

25 coin, such coin shall also have an obverse 


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1 and reverse that depicts, in the eight an2 gles of the vertices, eight stylized dolphins 

3 that form an outer circle. 

4 (B) TWO AND ONE-HALF DOLLAR GOLD

5 COINS.—The two and one-half dollar gold coins 

6 minted under this Act shall be a close likeness 

7 of the Panama-Pacific Exposition two and one8 half dollar gold coin, and— 

9 (i) the obverse shall bear the Greek 

10 goddess Columbia riding sidesaddle on the 

11 back of a Greek mythological hippocampus 

12 seahorse, with a caduceus in her left hand; 

13 and 

14 (ii) the reverse shall bear an eagle 

15 perched on a plaque that is inscribed ‘‘E 

16 Pluribus Unum’’ and ‘‘United States of 

17 America’’. 

18 (C) $1 GOLD COINS.—The $1 gold coin 

19 minted under this Act shall be a close likeness 

20 of the Panama-Pacific Exposition $1 gold coin, 

21 and— 

22 (i) the obverse shall bear the profile of 

23 a man wearing a cap which is intended to 

24 depict a laborer who worked on the con25 struction of the Panama Canal; and 


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1 (ii) the reverse shall bear the image of 

2 two dolphins symbolizing the meeting of 

3 the two oceans, with the inscriptions 

4 ‘‘PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION’’ and 

5 ‘‘SAN FRANCISCO’’. 

6 (D) HALF DOLLAR SILVER COINS.—The 

7 half dollar silver coins minted under this Act 

8 shall be designed— 

9 (i) to be a close likeness of the 1915 

10 Panama Pacific Exposition half dollar coin; 

11 (ii) with an obverse depicting Colum12 bia scattering flowers from a cornucopia 

13 held by a small child towards a sunset on 

14 the Golden Gate (prior to the construction 

15 of the now famous bridge), which was de16 signed by the Mint’s then-Chief Engraver, 

17 Charles Barber; and 

18 (iii) with a reverse depicting an eagle 

19 resting on the union shield with an oak 

20 branch to its left, for stability and 

21 strength, and an olive branch to its right, 

22 for peace, credited to Barber’s assistant 

23 George T. Morgan, designer of the Morgan 

24 dollar. 


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1 (3) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

2 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

4 (B) an inscription of the year— 

5 (i) depicted in Roman numerals 

6 (‘‘MMXVII’’), in the case of the $5 and 

7 half dollar coins; and 

8 (ii) ‘‘2017’’, in the case of the $1 

9 coins and the two and one-half dollar gold 

10 coins; and 

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

12 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer13 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

15 under this Act shall be— 

16 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

17 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

18 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

19 Committee. 

20 SEC. 5. CIRCULATING COIN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue circu22 lating clad half dollar coins, as described under section 

23 5112 of title 31, United States Code, in the same design 

24 as described for the half dollar silver coins under section 

25 4(a)(2)(D). 


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1 (b) LIMITATION.—If the Secretary issues such circu2 lating half dollar coins, the Secretary— 

3 (1) may issue them in no more than 5 consecu4 tive calendar years, beginning in calendar year 2017; 

5 and 

6 (2) shall ensure that, of the total number of 

7 half dollar coins issued in any such calendar year, 

8 not more than half of such coins are made up of the 

9 half dollar coins issued pursuant to this section. 

10 SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

12 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

14 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

15 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

17 issue coins minted under this Act, other than coins de18 scribed under section 5, only during the 1-year period be19 ginning on January 1, 2017. 

20 SEC. 7. SALE OF COINS. 

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

22 other than coins described under section 5, shall be sold 

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

24 (1) the face value of the coins; 


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

2 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

5 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

7 sales of the coins issued under this Act, other than coins 

8 described under section 5, at a reasonable discount. 

9 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

11 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act, 

12 other than coins described under section 5, before 

13 the issuance of such coins. 

14 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre15 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea16 sonable discount. 

17 SEC. 8. SURCHARGES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

19 Act, other than coins described under section 5, shall in20 clude a surcharge of— 

21 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coins; 

22 (2) $20 per coin for the two and one-half dollar 

23 coin; 

24 (3) $15 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

25 (4) $10 per coin for the half dollar coin. 


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1 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f)(1) of 

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

3 the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act, 

4 other than coins described under section 5, shall be 

5 promptly paid by the Secretary to the San Francisco Mu6 seum and Historical Society for the design and construc7 tion of appropriate exhibitions in the San Francisco Mu8 seum and Historical Society, including the necessary 

9 adaptive reuse of the Old Mint, commemorating the Pan10 ama-Pacific International Exposition, as well as the devel11 opment of appropriate exhibitions at the Palace of Fine 

12 Arts on the grounds of the former Panama-Pacific Inter13 national Exposition. 

14 (c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 

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

16 documents, and other data of each of the organizations 

17 referred to in subsection (b) as may be related to the ex18 penditures of amounts paid under such subsection. 

19 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

20 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

21 under this Act, other than coins described under section 

22 5, of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time 

23 of such issuance, the issuance of such coin would result 

24 in the number of commemorative coin programs issued 

25 during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative 


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1 coin program issuance limitation under section 

2 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect 

3 on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary 

4 of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this sub5 section. 

Æ 


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