Calendar No. 244

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1228

[Report No. 105–130]

A BILL

To provide for a 10-year circulating commemorative

States, and for other purposes.coin program to commemorate each of the 50

OCTOBER 31, 1997

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 244

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1228

[Report No. 105–130]

To provide for a 10-year circulating commemorative coin program to

commemorate each of the 50 States, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 26, 1997

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. D’AMATO, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. CRAIG, Mr.

KEMPTHORNE, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. FRIST,

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. KERRY, Mr.

JOHNSON, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ROTH, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr.

KENNEDY, Mr. DODD, Mr. KERREY, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Ms.

SNOWE, Mr. HELMS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

OCTOBER 31, 1997

Reported by Mr. D’AMATO, with an amendment

[Insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide for a 10-year circulating commemorative coin

program to commemorate each of the 50 States, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•S 1228 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘50 States Commemo3 rative Coin Program Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) it is appropriate and timely—

7 (A) to honor the unique Federal republic

8 of 50 States that comprise the United States;

9 and

10 (B) to promote the diffusion of knowledge

11 among the youth of the United States about the

12 individual States, their history and geography,

13 and the rich diversity of the national heritage;

14 (2) the circulating coinage of the United States

15 has not been modernized during the 25-year period

16 preceding the date of enactment of this Act;

17 (3) a circulating commemorative 25-cent coin

18 program could produce earnings of $110,000,000

19 from the sale of silver proof coins and sets over the

20 10-year period of issuance, and would produce indi21 rect earnings of an estimated $2,600,000,000 to

22 $5,100,000,000 to the United States Treasury,

23 money that will replace borrowing to fund the na24 tional debt to at least that extent; and

25 (4) it is appropriate to launch a commemorative

26 circulating coin program that encourages young peo-
3

•S 1228 RS

1 ple and their families to collect memorable tokens of

2 all of the States for the face value of the coins.

3 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF REDESIGNED QUARTER DOLLARS

4 OVER 10-YEAR PERIOD COMMEMORATING

5 EACH OF THE 50 STATES.

6 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is

7 amended by inserting after subsection (k) the following

8 new subsection:

9 ‘‘(l) REDESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF QUARTER DOLLAR

10 IN COMMEMORATION OF EACH OF THE 50 STATES.—

11 ‘‘(1) REDESIGN BEGINNING IN 1999.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the

13 fourth sentence of subsection (d)(1) and sub14 section (d)(2), quarter dollar coins issued dur15 ing the 10-year period beginning in 1999, shall

16 have designs on the reverse side selected in ac17 cordance with this subsection which are em18 blematic of the 50 States.

19 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Notwith20 standing subparagraph (A), the Secretary may

21 continue to mint and issue quarter dollars in

22 1999 which bear the design in effect before the

23 redesign required under this subsection and an

24 inscription of the year ‘1998’ as required to en-
4

•S 1228 RS

1 sure a smooth transition into the 10-year pro2 gram under this subsection.

3 ‘‘(2) SINGLE STATE DESIGNS.—The design on

4 the reverse side of each quarter dollar issued during

5 the 10-year period referred to in paragraph (1) shall

6 be emblematic of 1 of the 50 States.

7 ‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 5

8 STATES DURING EACH OF THE 10 YEARS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the

10 quarter dollar coins issued during each year of

11 the 10-year period referred to in paragraph (1)

12 shall be emblematic of 5 States selected in the

13 order in which such States ratified the Con14 stitution of the United States or were admitted

15 into the Union, as the case may be.

16 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 5 COIN DE17 SIGNS IN EACH YEAR.—Of the quarter dollar

18 coins issued during each year of the 10-year pe19 riod referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary

20 of the Treasury shall prescribe, on the basis of

21 such factors as the Secretary determines to be

22 appropriate, the number of quarter dollars

23 which shall be issued with each of the 5 designs

24 selected for such year.

25 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF DESIGN.—
5

•S 1228 RS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each of the 50 de2 signs required under this subsection for quarter

3 dollars shall be—

4 ‘‘(i) selected by the Secretary after

5 consultation with—

6 ‘‘(I) the Governor of the State

7 being commemorated, or such other

8 State officials or group as the State

9 may designate for such purpose; and

10 ‘‘(II) the Commission of Fine

11 Arts; and

12 ‘‘(ii) reviewed by the Citizens Com13 memorative Coin Advisory Committee.

14 ‘‘(B) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROC15 ESS.—Designs for quarter dollars may be sub16 mitted in accordance with the design selection

17 and approval process developed by the Sec18 retary in the sole discretion of the Secretary.

19 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary may

20 include participation by State officials, artists

21 from the States, engravers of the United States

22 Mint, and members of the general public.

23 ‘‘(D) STANDARDS.—Because it is impor24 tant that the Nation’s coinage and currency

25 bear dignified designs of which the citizens of
6

•S 1228 RS

1 the United States can be proud, the Secretary

2 shall not select any frivolous or inappropriate

3 design for any quarter dollar minted under this

4 subsection.

5 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REP6 RESENTATIONS.—No head and shoulders por7 trait or bust of any person, living or dead, and

8 no portrait of a living person may be included

9 in the design of any quarter dollar under this

10 subsection.

11 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For

12 purposes of sections 5134 and 5136, all coins mint13 ed under this subsection shall be considered to be

14 numismatic items.

15 ‘‘(6) ISSUANCE.—

16 ‘‘(A) QUALITY OF COINS.—The Secretary

17 may mint and issue such number of quarter

18 dollars of each design selected under paragraph

19 (4) in uncirculated and proof qualities as the

20 Secretary determines to be appropriate.

21 ‘‘(B) SILVER COINS.—Notwithstanding

22 subsection (b), the Secretary may mint and

23 issue such number of quarter dollars of each

24 design selected under paragraph (4) as the Sec-
7

•S 1228 RS

1 retary determines to be appropriate, with a con2 tent of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

3 ‘‘(C) SOURCES OF BULLION.—The Sec4 retary shall obtain silver for minting coins

5 under subparagraph (B) from available re6 sources, including stockpiles established under

7 the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Pil8 ing Act.

9 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION IN EVENT OF THE ADMIS10 SION OF ADDITIONAL STATES.—If any additional

11 State is admitted into the Union before the end of

12 the 10-year period referred to in paragraph (1), the

13 Secretary of the Treasury may issue quarter dollar

14 coins, in accordance with this subsection, with a de15 sign which is emblematic of such State during any

16 1 year of such 10-year period, in addition to the

17 quarter dollar coins issued during such year in ac18 cordance with paragraph (3)(A).’’.

19 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES DOLLAR COINS.

20 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the

21 ‘‘United States $1 Coin Act of 1997’’.

22 (b) WEIGHT.—Section 5112(a)(1) of title 31, United

23 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and weighs 8.1

24 grams’’.
8

•S 1228 RS

1 (c) COLOR AND CONTENT.—Section 5112(b) of title 31,

2 United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘dollar,’’;

4 and

5 (2) by inserting after the fourth sentence the fol6 lowing: ‘‘The dollar coin shall be golden in color, have

7 a distinctive edge, have tactile and visual features

8 that make the denomination of the coin readily dis9 cernible, be minted and fabricated in the United

10 States, and have similar metallic, anti-counterfeiting

11 properties as United States clad coinage in circula12 tion on the date of enactment of the United States $1

13 Coin Act of 1997.’’.

14 (d) DESIGN.—Section 5112(d)(1) of title 31, United

15 States Code, is amended by striking the fifth and sixth sen16 tences and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary of the

17 Treasury, in consultation with the Congress, shall select ap18 propriate designs for the obverse and reverse sides of the

19 dollar coin.’’.

20 (e) PRODUCTION OF NEW DOLLAR COINS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the depletion of the

22 Government’s supply (as of the date of enactment of

23 this Act) of $1 coins bearing the likeness of Susan B.

24 Anthony, the Secretary of the Treasury shall place

25 into circulation $1 coins that comply with the re-
9

•S 1228 RS

1 quirements of subsections (b) and (d)(1) of section

2 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by

3 this section.

4 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO CONTINUE

5 PRODUCTION.—If the supply of $1 coins bearing the

6 likeness of Susan B. Anthony is depleted before pro7 duction has begun of $1 coins which bear a design

8 which complies with the requirements of subsections

9 (b) and (d)(1) of section 5112 of title 31, United

10 States Code, as amended by this section, the Secretary

11 of the Treasury may continue to mint and issue $1

12 coins bearing the likeness of Susan B. Anthony in ac13 cordance with that section 5112 (as in effect on the

14 day before the date of enactment of this Act) until

15 such time as production begins.

16 (3) NUMISMATIC SETS.—The Secretary may in17 clude such $1 coins in any numismatic set produced

18 by the United States Mint before the date on which

19 the $1 coins authorized by this section are placed in

20 circulation.

21 (f) MARKETING PROGRAM.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Before placing into circula23 tion $1 coins authorized under this section, the Sec24 retary of the Treasury shall adopt a program to pro25 mote the use of such coins by commercial enterprises,
10

•S 1228 RS

1 mass transit authorities, and Federal, State, and

2 local government agencies.

3 (2) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the

4 Treasury shall conduct a study on the progress of the

5 marketing program adopted in accordance with para6 graph (1).

7 (3) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2001,

8 the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to

9 the Congress on the results of the study conducted

10 pursuant to paragraph (2).

11 SEC. 5. FIRST FLIGHT COMMEMORATIVE COINS.

12 (a) COIN SPECIFICATIONS.—

13 (1) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the

14 Treasury (hereafter in this section referred to as the

15 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins:

16 (A) $10 GOLD COINS.—Not more than

17 100,000 $10 coins, each of which shall—

18 (i) weigh 16.718 grams;

19 (ii) have a diameter of 1.06 inches;

20 and

21 (iii) contain 90 percent gold and 10

22 percent alloy.

23 (B) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than

24 500,000 $1 coins, each of which shall—

25 (i) weigh 26.73 grams;
11

•S 1228 RS

1 (ii) have a diameter of 1.500 inches;

2 and

3 (iii) contain 90 percent silver and 10

4 percent copper.

5 (C) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more

6 than 750,000 half dollar coins each of which

7 shall—

8 (i) weigh 11.34 grams;

9 (ii) have a diameter of 1.205 inches;

10 and

11 (iii) be minted to the specifications for

12 half dollar coins contained in section

13 5112(b) of title 31, United States Code.

14 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this sec15 tion shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of

16 title 31, United States Code.

17 (c) SOURCES OF BULLION.—The Secretary shall ob18 tain gold and silver for minting coins under this section

19 pursuant to the authority of the Secretary under other pro20 visions of law, including authority relating to the use of

21 silver stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical

22 Materials Stockpiling Act, as applicable.

23 (d) DESIGN OF COINS.—

24 (1) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
12

•S 1228 RS

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

2 minted under this section shall be emblematic of

3 the first flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in

4 Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17,

5 1903.

6 (B) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On

7 each coin minted under this section there shall

8 be—

9 (i) a designation of the value of the

10 coin;

11 (ii) an inscription of the year ‘‘2003’’;

12 and

13 (iii) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Lib14 erty’’, ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States

15 of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’.

16 (2) SELECTION.—The design for the coins mint17 ed under this section shall be—

18 (A) selected by the Secretary after consulta19 tion with the Board of Directors of the First

20 Flight Foundation and the Commission of Fine

21 Arts; and

22 (B) reviewed by the Citizens Commemora23 tive Coin Advisory Committee.

24 (e) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF COINS.—The Secretary

25 may issue coins minted under this section only during the
13

•S 1228 RS

1 period beginning on August 1, 2003, and ending on July

2 31, 2004.

3 (f) SALE OF COINS.—

4 (1) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this

5 section shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal

6 to the sum of—

7 (A) the face value of the coins;

8 (B) the surcharge provided in paragraph

9 (4) with respect to such coins; and

10 (C) the cost of designing and issuing the

11 coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of

12 machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and

13 shipping).

14 (2) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make

15 bulk sales of the coins issued under this section at a

16 reasonable discount.

17 (3) PREPAID ORDERS.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ac19 cept prepaid orders for the coins minted under

20 this section before the issuance of such coins.

21 (B) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to

22 prepaid orders under subparagraph (A) shall be

23 at a reasonable discount.

24 (4) SURCHARGES.—All sales shall include a sur25 charge of—
14

•S 1228 RS

1 (A) $35 per coin for the $10 coin;

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

3 (C) $1 per coin for the half dollar coin.

4 (5) MARKETING EXPENSES.—The Secretary shall

5 ensure that—

6 (A) a plan is established for marketing the

7 coins minted under this section; and

8 (B) adequate funds are made available to

9 cover the costs of carrying out that marketing

10 plan.

11 (g) GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULA12 TIONS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), no provision of law governing procurement

15 or public contracts shall be applicable to the procure16 ment of goods and services necessary for carrying out

17 the provisions of this Act.

18 (2) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.—Para19 graph (1) does not relieve any person entering into a

20 contract under the authority of this section from com21 plying with any law relating to equal employment

22 opportunity.

23 (h) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For pur24 poses of sections 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States
15

•S 1228 RS

1 Code, all coins minted under this subsection shall be consid2 ered to be numismatic items.

3 (i) DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 5134 of title

5 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by the

6 Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this sec7 tion shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the

8 First Flight Foundation for the purposes of—

9 (A) repairing, refurbishing, and maintain10 ing the Wright Brothers Monument on the Outer

11 Banks of North Carolina; and

12 (B) expanding (or, if necessary, replacing)

13 and maintaining the visitor center and other fa14 cilities at the Wright Brothers National Memo15 rial Park on the Outer Banks of North Carolina,

16 including providing educational programs and

17 exhibits for visitors.

18 (2) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the

19 United States shall have the right to examine such

20 books, records, documents, and other data of the First

21 Flight Foundation as may be related to the expendi22 tures of amounts paid under paragraph (1).

23 (j) FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.—The Secretary shall take

24 such actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting
16

•S 1228 RS

1 and issuing coins under this section will not result in any

2 net cost to the United States Government.