IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1209 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 18, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in recognition and celebration of the establishment of 

the Medal of Honor in 1861, America’s highest award 

for valor in action against an enemy force which can 

be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed 

Services of the United States, to honor the American 

military men and women who have been recipients of 

the Medal of Honor, and to promote awareness of what 

the Medal of Honor represents and how ordinary Americans, through courage, sacrifice, selfless service and patriotism, can challenge fate and change the course of 

history. 


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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 ‘‘Medal of Honor Com5 memorative Coin Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The Medal of Honor, first authorized by the 

9 Congress in 1861 as the United States Navy’s high10 est personal decoration, the Army Medal of Honor 

11 was authorized by the Congress in 1862, and the Air 

12 Force Medal of Honor was authorized by Congress 

13 in 1956. 

14 (2) The Medal of Honor is presented by the 

15 President of the United States in the name of the 

16 Congress, to a person who, while a member of the 

17 United States Armed Forces, distinguishes himself 

18 or herself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity 

19 at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the 

20 call of duty while engaged in action against an 

21 enemy of the United States; while engaged in mili22 tary operations involving conflict with an opposing 

23 foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign 

24 forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:38 May 18, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1209.RFS H1209

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1 posing armed force in which the United States is not 

2 a belligerent party. 

3 (3) The deed performed must have been one of 

4 personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as 

5 to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her 

6 comrades and must have involved risk of life. 

7 (4) Incontestable proof of the performance of 

8 the service will be exacted and each recommendation 

9 for the award of this decoration will be considered 

10 on the standard of extraordinary merit. 

11 (5) Fewer than 3,500 Medals of Honor have 

12 been awarded to members of the United States 

13 Armed Forces. 

14 (6) The Congressional Medal of Honor Society 

15 is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the 85th 

16 Congress under a legislative act signed into law by 

17 President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 14, 

18 1958, and membership in the Society is restricted to 

19 recipients of the Medal of Honor. 

20 (7) Society members are joined together for the 

21 purpose of forming and maintaining friendship 

22 among all living recipients of the Medal of Honor 

23 and remembrance of posthumous and deceased re24 cipients.; they are dedicated to the protection and 

25 preservation of the dignity, honor and name of the 


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1 Medal of Honor; service to others; service to Nation; 

2 and the promotion of allegiance to the Constitution 

3 and the Government of the United States. 

4 (8) Members of the Society act to foster patri5 otism and to inspire and encourage the youth of 

6 America to become worthy citizens. 

7 (9) The Congressional Medal of Honor Founda8 tion, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded 

9 by the Society in 1999, is dedicated to— 

10 (A) perpetuating the Medal of Honor’s leg11 acy through outreach and collaborative efforts; 

12 (B) raising funds for initiatives that pro13 mote what the Medal of Honor represents, op14 eration of the Congressional Medal of Honor 

15 Society headquarters, and the public outreach 

16 activities of the Medal of Honor Society’s mem17 bership; and 

18 (C) promoting American values and the 

19 qualities of courage, sacrifice and patriotism 

20 through increased awareness, education, schol21 arships, behavior and example. 

22 (10) Through its educational and outreach pro23 grams, the Congressional Medal of Honor Founda24 tion promotes heroism, selflessness and distinguished 

25 citizenship among American youth and brings public 


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1 awareness to the actions of ordinary Americans who 

2 have made and are making a profound difference in 

3 preserving our freedoms. 

4 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

5 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 

6 of the founding of the Medal of Honor in 1861, and not7 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins: 

10 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 

11 $5 gold coins, which shall— 

12 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

13 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

14 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

15 alloy. 

16 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 

17 $1 coins , which shall— 

18 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

19 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

20 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per21 cent copper. 

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

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

24 title 31, United States Code. 


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

2 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

3 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis4 matic items. 

5 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

6 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

8 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

9 traditions, legacy, and heritage of the Medal of 

10 Honor, and the distinguished service of its recipients 

11 in the Nation’s history. 

12 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

13 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 

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

15 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2011’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer18 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

20 under this Act shall— 

21 (1) contain motifs that represent the 3 Medal 

22 of Honor designs (Army, Navy, and Air Force) and 

23 specifically honor the Medal of Honor recipients of 

24 both today and yesterday, such designs to be con25 sistent with the traditions and heritage of the 


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1 United States Armed Services, the mission and goals 

2 of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and 

3 the mission and goals of the Congressional Medal of 

4 Honor Foundation; 

5 (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta6 tion with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of 

7 Honor Society and Congressional Medal of Honor 

8 Foundation and the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

9 (3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory 

10 Committee. 

11 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE. 

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

13 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

14 (b) MINT FACILITY.—For each of the 2 denomina15 tion of coins minted under this Act, at least 1 facility of 

16 the United States Mint shall be used to strike proof qual17 ity coins, while at least 1 other such facility shall be used 

18 to strike the uncirculated quality coins. 

19 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary of the 

20 Treasury may issue coins minted under this Act only dur21 ing the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2011. 

22 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

25 of— 


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1 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

3 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

6 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

9 discount. 

10 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

12 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

13 before 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. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

19 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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

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

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

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

25 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the CongresVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:38 May 18, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1209.RFS H1209

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1 sional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance the edu2 cational, scholarship and outreach programs of the Foun3 dation. 

4 (c) AUDITS.—The Congressional Medal of Honor 

5 Foundation shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

6 section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with 

7 regard to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

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

9 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

10 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 

11 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

12 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro13 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

14 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

15 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 

16 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec17 retary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 14, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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