II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 587 

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

of the Model T Ford Automobile and the 100th anniversary of the 

Highland Park Plant, Michigan, the birthplace of the assembly line, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2007 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the Model T Ford Automobile and 

the 100th anniversary of the Highland Park Plant, 

Michigan, the birthplace of the assembly line, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Model T Ford Auto5 mobile Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) More than 15,000,000 Model T Fords were 

2 produced between October 1, 1908, and May 26, 

3 1927. 

4 (2) By fostering unprecedented personal mobil5 ity, the Model T drove the transformation of the 

6 landscape, the economy, and the social life of Amer7 ica. 

8 (3) The assembly line developed for Model T 

9 production became the characteristic mode of pro10 duction in the 20th century and made manufactured 

11 goods available in unprecedented abundance. 

12 (4) The vast numbers of high wage, low skill 

13 jobs needed on assembly lines gave millions of Amer14 icans access to a middle class life. 

15 (5) At the height of its popularity, the Model T 

16 was manufactured in 20 countries, on every con17 tinent except Antarctica. 

18 (6) In 1999 a panel of automotive experts from 

19 across the globe chose the Model T as the ‘‘Car of 

20 the Century’’ because of its pervasive, enduring in21 fluence. 

22 (7) 2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of 

23 the Highland Park Plant, the birthplace of the as24 sembly line. 


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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATION.—In commemoration of the 

3 100th anniversary of the Model T Ford Automobile, the 

4 Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred 

5 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue not more than 

6 500,000 $1 coins, each of which shall— 

7 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

8 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

9 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

10 copper. 

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

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

13 title 31, United States Code. 

14 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

15 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

16 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis17 matic items. 

18 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

19 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

21 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

22 Model T Ford and the assembly line. 

23 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

24 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

26 and 


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1 (B) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

2 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer3 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

5 under this Act shall be— 

6 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

7 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

8 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

9 Committee. 

10 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

12 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

13 (b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

14 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning on Janu15 ary 1, 2010. 

16 (c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

17 coins may be minted under this Act after December 31, 

18 2010. 

19 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

20 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold 

22 by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of the face 

23 value of the coins, the surcharge required under section 

24 7(a) for the coins, and the cost of designing and issuing 


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1 such coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machin2 ery, overhead expenses, and marketing). 

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

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

5 discount. 

6 (c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.— 

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

8 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

9 before the issuance of such coins. 

10 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre11 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea12 sonable discount. 

13 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

15 this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

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

17 title 31, United States Code, the first $5,000,000 of the 

18 surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 

19 issued under this Act shall be paid by the Secretary as 

20 follows: 

21 (1) MOTOR CITIES NATIONAL HERITAGE

AREA.—Up to 1 22 ⁄2 to the Automobile National Herit23 age Area Partnership Inc. for creating an endow24 ment for— 


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1 (A) supporting the celebration and preser2 vation of the Model T story; and 

3 (B) maintaining and expanding national 

4 Model T educational programs. 

(2) THE EDISON INSTITUTE.—Up to 1 5 ⁄2 to the 

6 Edison Institute, otherwise known as ‘‘The Henry 

7 Ford’’, in Dearborn, Michigan, a National Historic 

8 Landmark, for creating an endowment for maintain9 ing and expanding displays and developing edu10 cational programs associated with the Model T Ford 

11 Automobile. 

12 (c) AUDITS.—Each organization that receives any 

13 payment from the Secretary under this section shall be 

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

15 title 31, United States Code. 

Æ 


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