I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1683 

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

of the United States Coast Guard. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Mr. COURTNEY (for himself, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. 

BORDALLO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CLEAVER, 

Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

of Pennsylvania, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. GUTHRIE, 

Mr. HIMES, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LANCE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

PITTENGER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. WALZ, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. TONKO, 

Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. FORBES, Mr. COLE, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. BROWNLEY

of California, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. ESHOO, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 

HARPER, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. ROSS, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. WELCH, Ms. ESTY, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. 

ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

SENSENBRENNER, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Ms. NORTON, Mr. HONDA, Mr. PALAZZO, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Mr. LAMBORN, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. 

TSONGAS, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. JONES, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. DAVID

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HECK of Washington, Mr. DENT, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. LATTA, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. HAHN, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. 

COOPER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. 

KINZINGER of Illinois, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

VISCLOSKY, and Mr. WITTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Financial Services 


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A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard. 

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 ‘‘United States Coast 

5 Guard Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States Coast Guard was found9 ed on August 4, 1790, as the Revenue Cutter Serv10 ice under the United States Department of the 

11 Treasury. 

12 (2) Congress created the Coast Guard on Janu13 ary 28, 1915, by merging the Revenue Cutter Serv14 ice and the United States Lifesaving Service, was 

15 moved to the Department of Transportation in 

16 1967, and on February 25, 2003, became part of 

17 the Department of Homeland Security. 

18 (3) Although the smallest of the uniformed 

19 services, today the United States Coast Guard con20 ducts a wide variety of missions to protect the pub21 lic, the environment, and the United States economic 

22 and security interests in any maritime region, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Apr 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1683.IH H1683

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1 cluding international waters and America’s coasts, 

2 ports, and inland waterways. 

3 (4) Every day, the United States Coast Guard 

4 plays a broad and important role in homeland secu5 rity, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine en6 vironmental pollution response, and the maintenance 

7 of river, intra-coastal and offshore aids to navigation 

8 (ATON). 

9 (5) The United States Coast Guard is our Na10 tion’s oldest seagoing military service, staying true 

11 to their motto, Semper Paratus or ‘‘Always Ready,’’ 

12 for 225 years. 

13 (6) The United States Coast Guard is sup14 ported by 57,600 Active Duty, Reserve, and Civilian 

15 personnel, who in 2013 responded to 17,000 search 

16 and rescue cases saving 7,400 lives, conducted over 

17 21,000 waterborne patrols of maritime infrastruc18 ture and resources, performed 32,500 maritime se19 curity response activities (including 21,000 water20 borne patrols of critical maritime infrastructure and 

21 resources, 2,000 escorts of high-capacity passenger 

22 vessels, 8,400 security boardings in and around U.S. 

23 ports), removed $3 billion worth of illegal drugs, pa24 trolled 4.5 million miles of maritime borders for im25 migration enforcement, and maintained 49,000 naviVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Apr 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1683.IH H1683

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1 gation aids ensuring the smooth transit of $1.8 tril2 lion worth of goods over 25,000 miles of our Na3 tion’s waterways. 

4 (7) Section 213 of Public Law 108–293 states 

5 that ‘‘The Commandant may establish a National 

6 Coast Guard Museum, on lands which will be feder7 ally owned and administered by the Coast Guard, 

8 and are located in New London, Connecticut, at, or 

9 in close proximity to, the Coast Guard Academy’’. 

10 (8) The National Coast Guard Museum Asso11 ciation, a nonprofit association dedicated to improve 

12 public understanding of the history, service and mis13 sions of the Coast Guard, is working with the 

14 United States Coast Guard, the City of New Lon15 don, the State of Connecticut, and a range of local, 

16 regional, and national stakeholders to develop, plan 

17 and raise capital for the National Coast Guard Mu18 seum, to be located in New London, Connecticut. 

19 (9) The United States Coast Guard is the only 

20 military service without a national museum through 

21 which to share its history and legacy with the Amer22 ican public. 


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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereafter 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 a diameter of 0.850 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 at least 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 half 

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

22 title 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 COIN. 

6 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

8 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

9 traditions, history, and heritage of the United States 

10 Coast Guard, and its role in securing our Nation 

11 since 1790. 

12 (2) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

13 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 

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

15 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2018’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer18 ica’’, ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’, and ‘‘Semper 

19 Paratus’’. 

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

21 under this Act shall— 

22 (1) contain motifs that specifically honor the 

23 United States Coastguardsman of both today and 

24 yesterday, in wartime and in peace, such designs to 

25 be consistent with the traditions and heritage of the 


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1 United States Coast Guard, the mission and goals of 

2 the National Coast Guard Museum, and the mis3 sions and goals of the National Coast Guard Mu4 seum Association; 

5 (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta6 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 

7 National Coast Guard Museum Association, and the 

8 Commission of Fine Arts; and 

9 (3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advi10 sory Committee. 

11 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

13 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

14 (b) MINT FACILITIES.—For each of the 3 coins mint15 ed under this Act, at least 1 facility of the United States 

16 Mint shall be used to strike proof quality coins, while at 

17 least 1 other such facility shall be used to strike the uncir18 culated quality coins. 

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

20 issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 

21 period beginning on January 1, 2018. 

22 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

25 of— 


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1 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

3 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

6 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

9 discount. 

10 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

12 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

13 before the issuance of such coins. 

14 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre15 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea16 sonable discount. 

17 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under 

19 this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

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

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

22 (3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half dol23 lar coin. 

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

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


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

2 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the National 

3 Coast Guard Museum Association to help finance the de4 sign, construction, operations, and maintenance of the Na5 tional Coast Guard Museum. 

6 (c) AUDITS.—The National Coast Guard Museum 

7 Association shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

8 section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with 

9 regard to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

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

11 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

13 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

14 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro15 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

16 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

17 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code. The 

18 Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

19 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

20 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec21 essary to ensure that— 

22 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

24 Government; and 


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1 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

2 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec3 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 

4 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

5 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex6 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

7 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 

8 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

9 Code. 

Æ 


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