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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3517 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3517

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2012

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mrs. Boxer) 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 centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and 
                           the Panama Canal.

    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 ``Panama-Pacific International 
Exposition and Panama Canal Commemorative Coins Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a 
        world's fair held in San Francisco, California. The Exposition 
        ran from February 20 until December 4, 1915.
            (2) The Exposition commemorated the completion of the 
        Panama Canal and the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of the 
        Pacific Ocean by the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
            (3) The event was a significant factor in the economic 
        recovery of San Francisco, which had been nearly destroyed by 
        an earthquake and subsequent fire in 1906.
            (4) President William Howard Taft announced the choice of 
        San Francisco as location of the Exposition in 1911, and 
        construction began shortly thereafter.
            (5) There were hundreds of buildings on the grounds; most 
        were built to last only the duration of the Exposition. Every 
        State then in the Union was represented with a building. Many 
        nations were represented at the Exposition as well: 22 foreign 
        governments had buildings. The fair occupied 76 city blocks.
            (6) The only building to survive the Exposition, and its 
        most visible remnant, is the Palace of Fine Arts, which was 
        designed by noted architect Bernard R. Maybeck.
            (7) Congress authorized the United States Mint to issue 
        five different coins dated 1915 in connection with the Panama-
        Pacific International Exposition. The coins represent a high 
        water mark for American commemorative coins. Produced at the 
        San Francisco Mint, these were the first United States 
        commemorative coins to bear the motto ``In God We Trust'', and 
        included the silver Panama-Pacific half dollar and four gold 
        coins in denominations of one dollar, 2\1/2\ dollars, a 50-
        dollar round coin, and a unique 50-dollar octagonal coin.
            (8) The octagonal $50 gold piece was the largest coin 
        authorized by Congress, and the first minted since 1852 in a 
        shape other than round.
            (9) The Panama Canal, which cuts across the Isthmus of 
        Panama, was built between 1890 and 1914. It was the world's 
        greatest engineering feat of its time and required a labor 
        force of almost 40,000.
            (10) While the initial French efforts to build the canal 
        were disastrous, President Theodore Roosevelt, recognizing the 
        value of a canal, led the United States in buying the equipment 
        and concession of the unsuccessful French effort to build the 
        canal for $40 million, and championed the effort that overcame 
        malaria and immense logistical problems. The Canal opened on 
        August 15, 1914--401 years after Balboa first crossed Panama.
            (11) Stretching 51 miles, the Panama Canal connected the 
        Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, saving sailors a 
        dangerous 8,000-mile journey around Cape Horn and through the 
        Straits of Magellan, and cutting in half the time previously 
        required to sail between the oceans.
            (12) The United States should mark the centennial of this 
        important event in San Francisco and the monumental achievement 
        of the opening of the Panama Canal.
            (13) The proceeds from the surcharge on the sale of such 
        commemorative coins will assist in supporting the educational 
        programs of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society and 
        the preservation of Theodore Roosevelt's home in Oyster Bay, 
        New York.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
            (1) $5 octagonal gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 
        coins, which shall--
                    (A) be octagonal in shape;
                    (B) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (C) have a distance between two opposing vertices 
                of 0.850 inches; and
                    (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $5 round gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 
        which shall--
                    (A) be round in shape;
                    (B) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (C) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (3) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $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.
            (4) Half dollar clad coins.--Not more than 500,000 half 
        dollar 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 section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be a close likeness of the two gold and one half 
        dollar coins issued by the San Francisco Mint at the opening of 
        the Pan-Pacific Exposition and the medal awarded to every 
        United States citizen who worked for a continuous 2-year period 
        on the construction of the Panama Canal.
            (2) Specific design requirements.--
                    (A) $5 gold coins.--The $5 octagonal gold coins 
                minted under this Act and the $5 round gold coins 
                minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the 
                octagonal Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin and 
                the round Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin, 
                respectively. Such coins--
                            (i) shall have an obverse depicting the 
                        head of the goddess Minerva, with a Corinthian-
                        style helmet, enclosed in a ring of beads;
                            (ii) with a reverse--
                                    (I) depicting an owl perched on a 
                                pine bough complete with four pine 
                                cones and multiple sprigs of pine 
                                needles surrounded by the same ring of 
                                beads depicted on the obverse; and
                                    (II) depicting, outside this ring, 
                                the inscriptions ``PANAMA-PACIFIC 
                                EXPOSITION'' and ``SAN FRANCISCO'' in a 
                                single line of text circling the entire 
                                rim, with the words separated by dots; 
                                and
                            (iii) with respect to the octagonal coin, 
                        such coin shall also have an obverse and 
                        reverse that depicts, in the eight angles of 
                        the vertices, eight stylized dolphins that form 
                        an outer circle.
                    (B) $1 silver coins.--The $1 silver coins minted 
                under this Act shall be designed--
                            (i) to be a close likeness, in the form of 
                        a coin, of the Roosevelt Medal--
                                    (I) awarded to every United States 
                                citizen who worked for a continuous 2-
                                year period on the construction of the 
                                Panama Canal;
                                    (II) issued as a result of an 
                                Executive Order dated June 23, 1907, by 
                                President Theodore Roosevelt;
                                    (III) designed by artist F.D. 
                                Millet; and
                                    (IV) struck by the United States 
                                Mint in Philadelphia;
                            (ii) with an obverse depicting the image of 
                        President Theodore Roosevelt; and
                            (iii) with a reverse--
                                    (I) depicting the Culebra Cut, a 9-
                                mile, 272-foot-deep excavation through 
                                the Cordillera Mountains;
                                    (II) displaying the Canal Zone 
                                motto ``THE LAND DIVIDED, THE WORLD 
                                UNITED'' inscribed on the horizon; and
                                    (III) displaying the legend 
                                ``PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                                UNITED STATES'' around the border, 
                                except that the Secretary may, after 
                                consultation with the Commission of 
                                Fine Arts and review by the Citizens 
                                Coinage Advisory Committee, choose to 
                                omit such legend.
                    (C) Half dollar clad coins.--The half dollar clad 
                coins minted under this Act shall be designed--
                            (i) to be a close likeness of the 1915 
                        Panama Pacific Exposition half dollar coin;
                            (ii) with an obverse depicting Columbia 
                        scattering flowers from a cornucopia held by a 
                        small child towards a sunset on the Golden Gate 
                        (prior to the construction of the now famous 
                        bridge), which was designed by the Mint's then-
                        Chief Engraver, Charles Barber; and
                            (iii) with a reverse depicting an eagle 
                        resting on the union shield with an oak branch 
                        to its left, for stability and strength, and an 
                        olive branch to its right, for peace, credited 
                        to Barber's assistant George T. Morgan, 
                        designer of the Morgan dollar.
            (3) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the value of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the year--
                            (i) depicted in Roman numerals (``MMXV''), 
                        in the case of the $5 and half dollar coins; 
                        and
                            (ii) ``2015'', in the case of the $1 coins; 
                        and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Mint Facility.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this 
Act.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2015.

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, 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 issued under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin;
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
            (3) $5 per coin for the half dollar coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f)(1) 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 as follows:
            (1) Three-quarters of the surcharges to the San Francisco 
        Museum and Historical Society for the design and construction 
        of appropriate exhibitions in the San Francisco Museum and 
        Historical Society, including the necessary adaptive reuse of 
        the Old Mint, commemorating the Panama-Pacific International 
        Exposition, as well as the development of appropriate 
        exhibitions at the Palace of Fine Arts on the grounds of the 
        former Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
            (2) One-fourth of the surcharges to the National Park 
        Foundation to be used for programs, construction, or 
        preservation work at President Theodore Roosevelt's home in 
        Oyster Bay, New York.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of each of the organizations referred to in subsection (b) as may 
be related to the expenditures of amounts paid under such subsection.
    (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 2 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.
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