S. 1228

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven

An Act

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

each of the 50 States, 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 ‘‘50 States Commemorative Coin

Program Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that—

(1) it is appropriate and timely—

(A) to honor the unique Federal republic of 50 States

that comprise the United States; and

(B) to promote the diffusion of knowledge among the

youth of the United States about the individual States,

their history and geography, and the rich diversity of the

national heritage;

(2) the circulating coinage of the United States has not

been modernized during the 25-year period preceding the date

of enactment of this Act;

(3) a circulating commemorative 25-cent coin program could produce earnings of $110,000,000 from the sale of silver proof

coins and sets over the 10-year period of issuance, and would

produce indirect earnings of an estimated $2,600,000,000 to

$5,100,000,000 to the United States Treasury, money that will

replace borrowing to fund the national debt to at least that

extent; and

(4) it is appropriate to launch a commemorative circulating

coin program that encourages young people and their families

to collect memorable tokens of all of the States for the face

value of the coins.

SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF REDESIGNED QUARTER DOLLARS OVER 10-YEAR

PERIOD COMMEMORATING EACH OF THE 50 STATES.

Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by

inserting after subsection (k) the following new subsection:

‘‘(l) REDESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF QUARTER DOLLAR IN COMMEMORATION OF EACH OF THE 50 STATES.—

‘‘(1) REDESIGN BEGINNING IN 1999.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the fourth sentence of subsection (d)(1) and subsection (d)(2), quarter

dollar coins issued during the 10-year period beginning

in 1999, shall have designs on the reverse side selected
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in accordance with this subsection which are emblematic

of the 50 States.

‘‘(B) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary may continue to mint and issue

quarter dollars in 1999 which bear the design in effect

before the redesign required under this subsection and

an inscription of the year ‘1998’ as required to ensure

a smooth transition into the 10-year program under this

subsection.

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

side of each quarter dollar issued during the 10-year period

referred to in paragraph (1) shall be emblematic of 1 of the

50 States.

‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 5 STATES DURING

EACH OF THE 10 YEARS.—

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

coins issued during each year of the 10-year period referred

to in paragraph (1) shall be emblematic of 5 States selected

in the order in which such States ratified the Constitution

of the United States or were admitted into the Union,

as the case may be.

‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 5 COIN DESIGNS IN EACH

YEAR.—Of the quarter dollar coins issued during each year

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

Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, on the basis

of such factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the number of quarter dollars which shall be issued

with each of the 5 designs selected for such year.

‘‘(4) SELECTION OF DESIGN.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each of the 50 designs required

under this subsection for quarter dollars shall be—

‘‘(i) selected by the Secretary after consultation

with—

‘‘(I) the Governor of the State being commemorated, or such other State officials or group as

the State may designate for such purpose; and

‘‘(II) the Commission of Fine Arts; and

‘‘(ii) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin

Advisory Committee.

‘‘(B) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROCESS.—Designs for

quarter dollars may be submitted in accordance with the

design selection and approval process developed by the

Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary.

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

participation by State officials, artists from the States,

engravers of the United States Mint, and members of the

general public.

‘‘(D) STANDARDS.—Because it is important that the

Nation’s coinage and currency bear dignified designs of

which the citizens of the United States can be proud,

the Secretary shall not select any frivolous or inappropriate

design for any quarter dollar minted under this subsection.

‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REPRESENTATIONS.—No

head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living

or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included

in the design of any quarter dollar under this subsection.
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‘‘(5) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of

sections 5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection

shall be considered to be numismatic items.

‘‘(6) ISSUANCE.—

‘‘(A) QUALITY OF COINS.—The Secretary may mint and

issue such number of quarter dollars of each design selected

under paragraph (4) in uncirculated and proof qualities

as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

‘‘(B) SILVER COINS.—Notwithstanding subsection (b),

the Secretary may mint and issue such number of quarter

dollars of each design selected under paragraph (4) as

the Secretary determines to be appropriate, with a content

of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

‘‘(C) SOURCES OF BULLION.—The Secretary shall obtain

silver for minting coins under subparagraph (B) from available resources, including stockpiles established under the

Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.

‘‘(7) APPLICATION IN EVENT OF THE ADMISSION OF ADDITIONAL STATES.—If any additional State is admitted into the

Union before the end of the 10-year period referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury may issue quarter

dollar coins, in accordance with this subsection, with a design

which is emblematic of such State during any 1 year of such

10-year period, in addition to the quarter dollar coins issued

during such year in accordance with paragraph (3)(A).’’.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES DOLLAR COINS.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the ‘‘United States $1 Coin Act of 1997’’.

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

is amended by striking ‘‘and weighs 8.1 grams’’.

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

States Code, is amended—

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

(2) by inserting after the fourth sentence the following:

‘‘The dollar coin shall be golden in color, have a distinctive

edge, have tactile and visual features that make the denomination of the coin readily discernible, be minted and fabricated

in the United States, and have similar metallic, anti-counterfeiting properties as United States coinage in circulation on

the date of enactment of the United States $1 Coin Act of

1997.’’.

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

is amended by striking the fifth and sixth sentences and inserting

the following: ‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with

the Congress, shall select appropriate designs for the obverse and

reverse sides of the dollar coin.’’.

(e) PRODUCTION OF NEW DOLLAR COINS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the depletion of the Government’s

supply (as of the date of enactment of this Act) of $1 coins

bearing the likeness of Susan B. Anthony, the Secretary of

the Treasury shall place into circulation $1 coins that comply

with the requirements of subsections (b) and (d)(1) of section

5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by this section.

(2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO CONTINUE PRODUCTION.—

If the supply of $1 coins bearing the likeness of Susan B.

Anthony is depleted before production has begun of $1 coins
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which bear a design which complies with the requirements

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

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

the Treasury may continue to mint and issue $1 coins bearing

the likeness of Susan B. Anthony in accordance with that

section 5112 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act) until such time as production begins.

(3) NUMISMATIC SETS.—The Secretary may include such $1 coins in any numismatic set produced by the United States

Mint before the date on which the $1 coins authorized by

this section are placed in circulation.

(f) MARKETING PROGRAM.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Before placing into circulation $1 coins

authorized under this section, the Secretary of the Treasury

shall adopt a program to promote the use of such coins by

commercial enterprises, mass transit authorities, and Federal,

State, and local government agencies.

(2) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall

conduct a study on the progress of the marketing program

adopted in accordance with paragraph (1).

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

of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Congress on the

results of the study conducted pursuant to paragraph (2).

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act

shall be construed to evidence any intention to eliminate or to

limit the printing or circulation of United States currency in the

$1 denomination.

SEC. 6. FIRST FLIGHT COMMEMORATIVE COINS.

(a) COIN SPECIFICATIONS.— (1) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint

and issue the following coins: (A) $10 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 $10 coins,

each of which shall—

(i) weigh 16.718 grams;

(ii) have a diameter of 1.06 inches; and

(iii) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy. (B) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 $1 coins,

each of which shall—

(i) weigh 26.73 grams;

(ii) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and

(iii) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.

(C) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more than 750,000

half dollar coins each of which shall—

(i) weigh 11.34 grams;

(ii) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and

(iii) 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 section shall

be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United

States Code.

(c) SOURCES OF BULLION.—The Secretary shall obtain gold and

silver for minting coins under this section pursuant to the authority
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of the Secretary under other provisions of law, including authority

relating to the use of silver stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act, as applicable.

(d) DESIGN OF COINS.—

(1) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

this section shall be emblematic of the first flight of Orville

and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on

December 17, 1903.

(B) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin

minted under this section there shall be—

(i) a designation of the value of the coin;

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

(iii) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In God

We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus

Unum’’.

(2) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted under

this section shall be—

(A) selected by the Secretary after consultation with

the Board of Directors of the First Flight Foundation and

the Commission of Fine Arts; and

(B) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin

Advisory Committee.

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

coins minted under this section only during the period beginning

on August 1, 2003, and ending on July 31, 2004.

(f) SALE OF COINS.—

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

be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of—

(A) the face value of the coins;

(B) the surcharge provided in paragraph (4) with

respect to such coins; and

(C) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead

expenses, marketing, and shipping).

(2) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk sales of

the coins issued under this section at a reasonable discount.

(3) PREPAID ORDERS.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept prepaid

orders for the coins minted under this section before the

issuance of such coins.

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

orders under subparagraph (A) shall be at a reasonable

discount.

(4) SURCHARGES.—All sales shall include a surcharge of—

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

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

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

(g) GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), no

provision of law governing procurement or public contracts

shall be applicable to the procurement of goods and services

necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.—Paragraph (1) does

not relieve any person entering into a contract under the
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authority of this section from complying with any law relating

to equal employment opportunity.

(h) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins

minted under this subsection shall be considered to be numismatic

items.

(i) DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 5134 of title 31, United

States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from

the sale of coins issued under this section shall be promptly

paid by the Secretary to the First Flight Foundation for the

purposes of—

(A) repairing, refurbishing, and maintaining the

Wright Brothers Monument on the Outer Banks of North

Carolina; and

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

maintaining the visitor center and other facilities at the

Wright Brothers National Memorial Park on the Outer

Banks of North Carolina, including providing educational

programs and exhibits for visitors.

(2) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United States

shall have the right to examine such books, records, documents,

and other data of the First Flight Foundation as may be related

to the expenditures of amounts paid under paragraph (1).

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

actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing

coins under this section will not result in any net cost to the

United States Government.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.