116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2321 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a coin 

in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Negro Leagues baseball. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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†S 2321 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Negro Leagues Base3 ball Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary 

7 of the establishment of the Negro National League, 

8 a professional baseball league formed in response to 

9 African-American players being banned from the 

10 major leagues. 

11 (2) On February 13, 1920, Andrew ‘‘Rube’’ 

12 Foster convened a meeting of 8 independent Afri13 can-American baseball team owners at the Paseo 

14 YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri, to form a ‘‘league 

15 of their own,’’ establishing the Negro National 

16 League, the first successful, organized professional 

17 African-American baseball league in the United 

18 States. 

19 (3) Soon, additional leagues formed in eastern 

20 and southern States. 

21 (4) The Negro Leagues would operate for 40 

22 years until 1960. 

23 (5) The story of the Negro Leagues is a story 

24 of strong-willed athletes who forged a glorious his25 tory in the midst of an inglorious era of segregation 

26 in the United States. 
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1 (6) The passion of the Negro Leagues players 

2 for the ‘‘National Pastime’’ would not only change 

3 the game, but also the United States. 

4 (7) The creation of the Negro Leagues provided 

5 a playing field for more than 2,600 African-Amer6 ican and Hispanic baseball players to showcase their 

7 world-class baseball abilities. 

8 (8) The Negro Leagues introduced an exciting 

9 brand of baseball that was in stark contrast to 

10 Major League Baseball. 

11 (9) A fast, aggressive style of play attracted 

12 black and white fans who sat together to watch 

13 those games at a time when it was virtually unheard 

14 of to interact socially in such a way. 

15 (10) Negro Leagues baseball would become a 

16 catalyst for economic development across the United 

17 States in major urban centers such as Kansas City, 

18 St. Louis, New York, Memphis, Baltimore, Wash19 ington, DC, Chicago, and Atlanta. 

20 (11) The Negro Leagues pioneered ‘‘Night 

21 Baseball’’ in 1930, 5 years before Major League 

22 Baseball, and would introduce game-changing inno23 vations such as shin guards and the batting helmet. 
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1 (12) The Negro Leagues helped make the Na2 tional Pastime a global game as players from the 

3 Negro Leagues— 

4 (A) were the first people from the United 

5 States to play in many Spanish-speaking coun6 tries; and 

7 (B) introduced professional baseball to the 

8 Japanese in 1927. 

9 (13) Jackie Robinson, a military veteran and 

10 former member of the Negro Leagues’ Kansas City 

11 Monarchs, would break Major League Baseball’s 

12 color barrier on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn 

13 Dodgers, paving the way for other African-American 

14 and Hispanic baseball players. 

15 (14) The Negro Leagues were born out of seg16 regation yet would become a driving force for social 

17 change in the United States. 

18 (15) The Negro Leagues produced future Major 

19 League Baseball stars, including Leroy ‘‘Satchel’’ 

20 Paige, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, 

21 Ernie Banks, and Roy Campanella. 

22 (16) The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was 

23 established in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1990— 

24 (A) to save from extinction a precious 

25 piece of Americana and baseball history; and 
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1 (B) to use the many life lessons of the 

2 powerful story of triumph over adversity of 

3 Negro Leagues players to promote tolerance, di4 versity, and inclusion. 

5 (17) In 2006, Congress granted National Des6 ignation to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 

7 recognizing it as ‘‘America’s Home’’ for Negro 

8 Leagues baseball history. 

9 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

10 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas11 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

12 shall mint and issue the following coins: 

13 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

14 coins, which shall— 

15 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

16 (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 

17 (C) contain not less than 90 percent gold. 

18 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

19 $1 coins, which shall— 

20 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

21 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

22 (C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 

23 (3) HALF-DOLLAR CLAD COINS.—Not more 

24 than 400,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

25 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 
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1 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

2 (C) be minted to the specifications for half3 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

4 31, United States Code. 

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

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

7 title 31, United States Code. 

8 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

9 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

10 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

11 SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS. 

12 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 

14 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

15 Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and its mission to 

16 promote tolerance, diversity, and inclusion. 

17 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

18 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

20 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2022’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer23 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

24 (b) SELECTION.—The designs for the coins minted 

25 under this Act shall be— 
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1 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

2 with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the 

3 Commission of Fine Arts; and 

4 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

5 Committee. 

6 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

8 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

9 (b) MINT FACILITIES.—Only 1 facility of the United 

10 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

11 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

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

14 period beginning on January 1, 2022. 

15 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

18 of— 

19 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

21 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

24 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 
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1 (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 

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

3 discount. 

4 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

6 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

7 before the issuance of such coins. 

8 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre9 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea10 sonable discount. 

11 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

13 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

14 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

15 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

16 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

17 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f)(1) of 

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

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

20 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Negro 

21 Leagues Baseball Museum for educational and outreach 

22 programs and exhibits. 

23 (c) AUDITS.—The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 

24 shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 
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1 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 

2 to the amounts received under subsection (b). 

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

4 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

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

6 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

7 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro8 grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 

9 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 

10 section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 

11 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec12 retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 

13 this subsection. 

14 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

15 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec16 essary to ensure that— 

17 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

19 Government; and 

20 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

21 are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 

22 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 

23 the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 

24 materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 

25 marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 
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1 States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 

2 and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 9. MARKETING AND EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN. 

4 The Secretary shall develop and execute a marketing, 

5 advertising, promotional, and educational program to pro6 mote the collecting of the coins authorized under this sub7 section. 

Passed the Senate March 5, 2020. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2321 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

ball. sary of the establishment of Negro Leagues basea coin in commemoration of the 100th anniver-