I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5598 

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

of the 400th anniversary of the landing and settlement of Plymouth 

Colony, the signing of the Mayflower Compact, and the role of the 

indigenous Wampanoag tribes in the realization of the settlement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2016 

Mr. KEATING (for himself, Ms. BASS, Mr. BERA, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, 

Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. CICILLINE, 

Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Ms. HAHN, Mr. HANNA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of 

Connecticut, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NEAL, Ms. PINGREE, 

Mr. POCAN, Mr. POSEY, Mr. STEWART, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. 

VARGAS, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. WILSON of South 

Carolina, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. ESTY, Ms. 

KAPTUR, and Mr. RYAN of Ohio) 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 400th anniversary of the landing and settlement of Plymouth Colony, the signing of 

the Mayflower Compact, and the role of the indigenous 

Wampanoag tribes in the realization of the settlement. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Plymouth 400th Anni3 versary Commemorative Coin Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the United States is poised for an anniver7 sary of national and international significance, the 

8 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and the 

9 founding of Plymouth Colony; 

10 (2) the Plymouth 400 anniversary will highlight 

11 the cultural contributions and United States tradi12 tions that began with the interaction of the indige13 nous Wampanoag and English peoples, a story that 

14 significantly shaped the building of the United 

15 States; 

16 (3) the settlers, some known as Pilgrims, and 

17 their ship the Mayflower, have come to represent na18 tional and international symbols of freedom and law; 

19 (4) the indigenous Wampanoag people, and 

20 their interaction with the Pilgrims, created an im21 portant legacy through their assistance and associa22 tion, including participation in the shared harvest 

23 feast, ‘‘The First Thanksgiving’’, which serves as 

24 the indelible icon for the Thanksgiving holiday in the 

25 Untied States; 


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1 (5) the ‘‘Mayflower Compact’’, signed near 

2 Provincetown off the coast of Cape Cod before land3 ing in Plymouth, was the colonial cornerstone for 

4 self-governance in the New World and had a pro5 found influence on later developments related to the 

6 Constitution of the United States and the Bill of 

7 Rights; 

8 (6) there are more than 20,000,000 descend9 ants worldwide that trace their ancestry back to the 

10 Mayflower passengers arriving in 1620 and on sub11 sequent ships in the 1620s; 

12 (7) in 2009, a nonprofit organization, Plymouth 

13 400, Inc., was established to ensure a suitable na14 tional observance of the Plymouth 400th anniversary 

15 to include the themes of exploration, innovation, im16 migration, self-governance, religious freedom, and 

17 thanksgiving, which are legacies that were sparked 

18 by these historic events and that continue today as 

19 cornerstones of the United States; 

20 (8) Plymouth 400, Inc. will lead, support and 

21 facilitate legislative and marketing efforts for a com22 memorative coin series, United States postage 

23 stamps, and related activities for the Plymouth 

24 400th anniversary observances and commemorations 

25 in 2020; 


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1 (9) a commemorative coin series will bring na2 tional and international attention to the lasting leg3 acy of Plymouth Colony, its settlers and the indige4 nous Wampanoag tribes of the area; 

5 (10) the proceeds from a surcharge on the sale 

6 of such commemorative coins will assist the financ7 ing of a suitable national observance in 2020 and 

8 2021 of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim land9 ing and historic events, including the signing of the 

10 Mayflower Compact, the ‘‘First Thanksgiving’’ feast, 

11 interaction with the indigenous Wampanoag people 

12 and other significant events of the period; 

13 (11) today, people from across the 50 States 

14 and from around the world flock to Plymouth to see 

15 the landing place, Plymouth Rock, visit the re-cre16 ated Mayflower and Plimoth Plantation, and trace 

17 their ancestry and learn about the indigenous 

18 Wampanoag and their integral role in the history of 

19 the United States; and 

20 (12) story of the Pilgrims, the indigenous 

21 Wampanoag people, and the Mayflower are iconic 

22 symbols for the world representing freedom, family, 

23 law, and justice. 


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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

4 shall mint and issue the following coins: 

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

6 $5 coins, which shall— 

7 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

8 (B) have diameter of 0.85 inches; and 

9 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

10 alloy. 

11 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 

12 $1 coins, which shall— 

13 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

15 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

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

17 than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

18 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

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

20 (C) be minted to the specifications for half21 dollar coins described in section 5112(b) of title 

22 31, United States Code. 

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

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

25 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 landing and settlement of Plymouth Colony, the 

10 signing of the Mayflower Compact, and the role of 

11 the indigenous Wampanoag tribes in the realization 

12 of the settlement. 

13 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

14 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

16 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’, 

17 ‘‘2021’’, or ‘‘2020–2021’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer20 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

22 under this Act shall be— 

23 (1) selected by the Secretary after consulting 

24 with— 

25 (A) Plymouth 400, Inc.; 


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1 (B) Plimoth Plantation, Inc.; 

2 (C) the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe; 

3 (D) the Wampanoag Tribe of Gayhead 

4 (Aquinnah); 

5 (E) the General Society of Mayflower De6 scendants; 

7 (F) the Pilgrim Society; 

8 (G) the Plymouth Antiquarian Society; 

9 (H) the Pilgrim Monument and Province10 town Museum; 

11 (I) the Massachusetts Cultural Council; 

12 and 

13 (J) the Massachusetts Historical Society; 

14 and 

15 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

16 Committee. 

17 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

19 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

21 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

22 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

24 issue coins minted under this Act only during a 2-year 

25 period beginning January 1, 2020. 


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1 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

4 of— 

5 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

7 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

10 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

13 discount. 

14 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

16 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

17 before the issuance of such coins. 

18 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre19 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea20 sonable discount. 

21 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

23 Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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


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1 (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol2 lar coin. 

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

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

5 the Secretary from the sale of coins under this Act shall 

6 be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows: 

7 (1) 50 percent of the surcharges, to the Plym8 outh 400, Inc.— 

9 (A) to support the work of the organiza10 tion to develop, implement, and provide over11 sight for the commemorations surrounding the 

12 events of 2020 through 2021; and 

13 (B) at the discretion of Plymouth 400 to 

14 distribute to local historical preservation and 

15 cultural organizations to support their impor16 tant work in educating the public about the set17 tlement of 1620, their continued existence for 

18 the benefit of future generations, and other re19 lated purposes. 

20 (2) 15 percent of the surcharges to Plimoth 

21 Plantation to support their effort to maintain the 

22 replica of the 1627 Plantation, the Mayflower II, 

23 and the replica of the Wampanoag Village. 

24 (3) 15 percent of the surcharges, to a 

25 Wampanoag tribal organization to continue proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Jun 29, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5598.IH H5598

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1 grams to educate people about the life of the 

2 Wampanoag people prior to the Plymouth settlement 

3 and the interactions between the settlers and the 

4 Wampanoag people. 

5 (4) 10 percent of the surcharges, to the General 

6 Society of Mayflower Descendants— 

7 (A) to support the continued restoration of 

8 the main facility in Plymouth; 

9 (B) provide funding for their research li10 brary at that site; and 

11 (C) for educational purposes. 

12 (5) 10 percent of the surcharges, to the Pilgrim 

13 Society to continue their work in displaying the 

14 story of the settlement and its artifacts, including 

15 the role of the indigenous Wampanoag tribe in the 

16 settlement. 

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

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

19 documents, and other data of each of the organizations 

20 referred to in subsection (b) as may be related to the ex21 penditures of amounts paid under such subsection. 

22 (d) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

23 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

25 of such time of issuance, the issuance of such coin would 


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1 result in the number of commemorative coin programs 

2 issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemo3 rative coin program issuance limitation under section 

4 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect 

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

6 of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this sub7 section. 

8 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

9 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec10 essary to ensure that— 

11 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

12 will not result in any net cost to the United States 

13 Government; and 

14 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

15 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

16 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

17 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

18 materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 

19 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 

20 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

21 and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code. 

Æ 


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