H. R. 1953

One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and six 

An Act 

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

Old Mint at San Francisco, otherwise known as the ‘‘Granite Lady’’, and for 

other purposes.

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 ‘‘San Francisco Old Mint 

Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

The Congress hereby finds as follows: 

(1) The Granite Lady played an important role in the 

history of the Nation. 

(2) The San Francisco Mint was established pursuant to 

an Act of Congress of July 3, 1852, to convert miners’ gold 

from the California gold rush into coins. 

(3) The San Francisco Old Mint Building was designed 

by architect A.B. Mullett, who also designed the United States 

Treasury Building and the Old Executive Office Building. 

(4) The solid construction of the Granite Lady enabled 

it to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, 

making it the only financial institution that was able to operate 

immediately after the earthquake as the treasury for disaster 

relief funds for the city of San Francisco. 

(5) Coins struck at the San Francisco Old Mint are distinguished by the ‘‘S’’ mint mark. 

(6) The San Francisco Old Mint is famous for having struck 

many rare, legendary issues, such as the 1870–S $3 coin, which 

is valued today at well over $1,000,000, and the 1894–S dime 

which is comparatively rare. 

(7) The San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin will 

be the first commemorative coin to honor a United States 

mint. 

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

(a) DENOMINATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

law, and in commemoration of the San Francisco Old Mint, the 

Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as 

the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins: (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which 

shall—

(A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

(B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 
H. R. 1953—2

(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy. (2) $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. 

(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 sections 5134 and 

5136 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 emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint 

Building, its importance to California and the history of the 

United States, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after 

the 1906 earthquake and fire. 

(2) 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 ‘‘2006’’; 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 the Board of the San Francisco 

Museum and Historical Society; 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.—The coins authorized under this Act shall 

be struck at the San Francisco Mint to the greatest extent possible. 

(c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue coins 

minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning 

on January 1, 2006. 

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. 
H. R. 1953—3

(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 minted under this Act 

shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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

(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) 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 to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society 

for use for the purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint 

in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and 

Gold Rush Museum. 

(c) AUDITS.—The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society 

shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) 

of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 

by the Fund under subsection (b). 

(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. 

SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

Notwithstanding the fifth sentence of section 5112(d)(1) of title 

31, United States Code, the Secretary of the Treasury may continue 

to issue, after December 31, 2005, numismatic items that contain 

5-cent coins minted in the years 2004 and 2005.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.