II 

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. 

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-Pacific Inter5 national Exposition and Panama Canal Commemorative 

6 Coins Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3517 IS

1 (1) The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Ex2 position was a world’s fair held in San Francisco, 

3 California. The Exposition ran from February 20 

4 until December 4, 1915. 

5 (2) The Exposition commemorated the comple6 tion of the Panama Canal and the 400th Anniver7 sary of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by the 

8 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa. 

9 (3) The event was a significant factor in the 

10 economic recovery of San Francisco, which had been 

11 nearly destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent 

12 fire in 1906. 

13 (4) President William Howard Taft announced 

14 the choice of San Francisco as location of the Expo15 sition in 1911, and construction began shortly there16 after. 

17 (5) There were hundreds of buildings on the 

18 grounds; most were built to last only the duration of 

19 the Exposition. Every State then in the Union was 

20 represented with a building. Many nations were rep21 resented at the Exposition as well: 22 foreign gov22 ernments had buildings. The fair occupied 76 city 

23 blocks. 

24 (6) The only building to survive the Exposition, 

25 and its most visible remnant, is the Palace of Fine 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3517 IS

1 Arts, which was designed by noted architect Bernard 

2 R. Maybeck. 

3 (7) Congress authorized the United States Mint 

4 to issue five different coins dated 1915 in connection 

5 with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. 

6 The coins represent a high water mark for American 

7 commemorative coins. Produced at the San Fran8 cisco Mint, these were the first United States com9 memorative coins to bear the motto ‘‘In God We 

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

11 dollar and four gold coins in denominations of one 

dollar, 21 12 ⁄2 dollars, a 50-dollar round coin, and a 

13 unique 50-dollar octagonal coin. 

14 (8) The octagonal $50 gold piece was the larg15 est coin authorized by Congress, and the first mint16 ed since 1852 in a shape other than round. 

17 (9) The Panama Canal, which cuts across the 

18 Isthmus of Panama, was built between 1890 and 

19 1914. It was the world’s greatest engineering feat of 

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

21 (10) While the initial French efforts to build 

22 the canal were disastrous, President Theodore Roo23 sevelt, recognizing the value of a canal, led the 

24 United States in buying the equipment and conces25 sion of the unsuccessful French effort to build the 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3517 IS

1 canal for $40 million, and championed the effort 

2 that overcame malaria and immense logistical prob3 lems. The Canal opened on August 15, 1914—401 

4 years after Balboa first crossed Panama. 

5 (11) Stretching 51 miles, the Panama Canal 

6 connected the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, 

7 saving sailors a dangerous 8,000-mile journey 

8 around Cape Horn and through the Straits of Ma9 gellan, and cutting in half the time previously re10 quired to sail between the oceans. 

11 (12) The United States should mark the cen12 tennial of this important event in San Francisco and 

13 the monumental achievement of the opening of the 

14 Panama Canal. 

15 (13) The proceeds from the surcharge on the 

16 sale of such commemorative coins will assist in sup17 porting the educational programs of the San Fran18 cisco Museum and Historical Society and the preser19 vation of Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, 

20 New York. 

21 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

22 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

24 shall mint and issue the following coins: 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3517 IS

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

2 than 50,000 $5 coins, which shall— 

3 (A) be octagonal in shape; 

4 (B) weigh 8.359 grams; 

5 (C) have a distance between two opposing 

6 vertices of 0.850 inches; and 

7 (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 per8 cent alloy. 

9 (2) $5 ROUND GOLD COINS.—Not more than 

10 50,000 $5 coins, which shall— 

11 (A) be round in shape; 

12 (B) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

14 (D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 per15 cent alloy. 

16 (3) $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 (4) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

23 than 500,000 half dollar coins, which shall— 

24 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

25 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3517 IS

1 (C) be minted to the specifications for half 

2 dollar coins, contained in section 5112(b) of 

3 title 31, United States Code. 

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

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

6 title 31, United States Code. 

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

8 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

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

10 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

11 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

13 minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the 

14 two gold and one half dollar coins issued by the San 

15 Francisco Mint at the opening of the Pan-Pacific 

16 Exposition and the medal awarded to every United 

17 States citizen who worked for a continuous 2-year 

18 period on the construction of the Panama Canal. 

19 (2) SPECIFIC DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

21 gold coins minted under this Act and the $5 

22 round gold coins minted under this Act shall be 

23 a close likeness of the octagonal Panama-Pa24 cific Exposition $50 gold coin and the round 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3517 IS

1 Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin, re2 spectively. Such coins— 

3 (i) shall have an obverse depicting the 

4 head of the goddess Minerva, with a Corin5 thian-style helmet, enclosed in a ring of 

6 beads; 

7 (ii) with a reverse— 

8 (I) depicting an owl perched on a 

9 pine bough complete with four pine 

10 cones and multiple sprigs of pine nee11 dles surrounded by the same ring of 

12 beads depicted on the obverse; and 

13 (II) depicting, outside this ring, 

14 the inscriptions ‘‘PANAMA-PACIFIC 

15 EXPOSITION’’ and ‘‘SAN FRAN16 CISCO’’ in a single line of text cir17 cling the entire rim, with the words 

18 separated by dots; and 

19 (iii) with respect to the octagonal 

20 coin, such coin shall also have an obverse 

21 and reverse that depicts, in the eight an22 gles of the vertices, eight stylized dolphins 

23 that form an outer circle. 

24 (B) $1 SILVER COINS.—The $1 silver coins 

25 minted under this Act shall be designed— 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3517 IS

1 (i) to be a close likeness, in the form 

2 of a coin, of the Roosevelt Medal— 

3 (I) awarded to every United 

4 States citizen who worked for a con5 tinuous 2-year period on the construc6 tion of the Panama Canal; 

7 (II) issued as a result of an Ex8 ecutive Order dated June 23, 1907, 

9 by President Theodore Roosevelt; 

10 (III) designed by artist F.D. Mil11 let; and 

12 (IV) struck by the United States 

13 Mint in Philadelphia; 

14 (ii) with an obverse depicting the 

15 image of President Theodore Roosevelt; 

16 and 

17 (iii) with a reverse— 

18 (I) depicting the Culebra Cut, a 

19 9-mile, 272-foot-deep excavation 

20 through the Cordillera Mountains; 

21 (II) displaying the Canal Zone 

22 motto ‘‘THE LAND DIVIDED, THE 

23 WORLD UNITED’’ inscribed on the 

24 horizon; and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3517 IS

1 (III) displaying the legend 

2 ‘‘PRESENTED BY THE PRESI3 DENT OF THE UNITED 

4 STATES’’ around the border, except 

5 that the Secretary may, after con6 sultation with the Commission of Fine 

7 Arts and review by the Citizens Coin8 age Advisory Committee, choose to 

9 omit such legend. 

10 (C) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—The half 

11 dollar clad coins minted under this Act shall be 

12 designed— 

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

14 Panama Pacific Exposition half dollar coin; 

15 (ii) with an obverse depicting Colum16 bia scattering flowers from a cornucopia 

17 held by a small child towards a sunset on 

18 the Golden Gate (prior to the construction 

19 of the now famous bridge), which was de20 signed by the Mint’s then-Chief Engraver, 

21 Charles Barber; and 

22 (iii) with a reverse depicting an eagle 

23 resting on the union shield with an oak 

24 branch to its left, for stability and 

25 strength, and an olive branch to its right, 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3517 IS

1 for peace, credited to Barber’s assistant 

2 George T. Morgan, designer of the Morgan 

3 dollar. 

4 (3) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

5 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

7 (B) an inscription of the year— 

8 (i) depicted in Roman numerals 

9 (‘‘MMXV’’), in the case of the $5 and half 

10 dollar coins; and 

11 (ii) ‘‘2015’’, in the case of the $1 

12 coins; 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 Commission of Fine Arts; and 

20 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

21 Committee. 

22 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

24 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3517 IS

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 1-year 

6 period beginning on January 1, 2015. 

7 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

10 of— 

11 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

13 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

16 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

19 discount. 

20 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

22 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

23 before the issuance of such coins. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3517 IS

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

4 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

6 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

7 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

8 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

9 (3) $5 per coin for the half dollar coin. 

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

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

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

13 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows: 

14 (1) Three-quarters of the surcharges to the San 

15 Francisco Museum and Historical Society for the de16 sign and construction of appropriate exhibitions in 

17 the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, 

18 including the necessary adaptive reuse of the Old 

19 Mint, commemorating the Panama-Pacific Inter20 national Exposition, as well as the development of 

21 appropriate exhibitions at the Palace of Fine Arts on 

22 the grounds of the former Panama-Pacific Inter23 national Exposition. 

24 (2) One-fourth of the surcharges to the Na25 tional Park Foundation to be used for programs, 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3517 IS

1 construction, or preservation work at President 

2 Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New 

3 York. 

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

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

6 documents, and other data of each of the organizations 

7 referred to in subsection (b) as may be related to the ex8 penditures of amounts paid under such subsection. 

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

10 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

12 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

13 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro14 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

15 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

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

17 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec18 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

19 this subsection. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS