I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 579 

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

of Muhammad Ali. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2017 

Mr. YARMUTH (for himself and Mr. SCHWEIKERT) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of Muhammad Ali. 

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 ‘‘Muhammad Ali Com5 memorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) Muhammad Ali was an Olympic gold med9 alist, 3-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer, 


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1 and one of the most celebrated and well-known ath2 letes in American history; 

3 (2) Muhammad Ali showed, beyond his impres4 sive fighting prowess in the boxing ring, even greater 

5 courage and tenacity as an advocate outside the 

6 ring; 

7 (3) Muhammad Ali was a great philanthropist 

8 and a strong champion of peace, equality, and free9 dom; 

10 (4) Muhammad Ali remains an icon of freedom 

11 of conscience; 

12 (5) Muhammad Ali was a prominent African 

13 American of the Muslim faith, and was, and con14 tinues to be, a role model to the citizens of the 

15 United States of all races, ethnicities, and religions; 

16 (6) Muhammad Ali used his fame to advocate 

17 for humanitarian causes in audiences with world 

18 leaders ranging from religious leaders to heads of 

19 state; and 

20 (7) Muhammad Ali inspired people around the 

21 globe in displaying the same vibrant and larger22 than-life character and dedication in spite of his 

23 physical ailments. 


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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 in commemoration 

5 of Muhammad Ali: 

6 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 

7 $5 coins, which shall— 

8 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

10 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

11 alloy. 

12 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 350,000 

13 $1 coins, which shall— 

14 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

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

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

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

19 title 31, United States Code. 

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

21 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

22 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis23 matic items. 

24 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

25 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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

2 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

3 and legacy of Muhammad Ali. 

4 (2) DESIGN AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin 

5 minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

7 (B) an inscription of the year 2020; and 

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

9 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer10 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

12 under this Act shall be— 

13 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

14 with the Muhammad Ali Center; and 

15 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

16 Committee. 

17 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

19 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

20 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United 

21 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

22 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

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

25 period beginning on January 1, 2020. 


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1 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

4 of— 

5 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

7 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

10 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

13 discount. 

14 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

16 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

17 before the issuance of such coins. 

18 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre19 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea20 sonable discount. 

21 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

23 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

24 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and 

25 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 


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

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

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

4 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows: 

5 (1) Eighty percent of the surcharges shall be 

6 paid to the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, 

7 Kentucky, to ensure growth and innovation in mu8 seum programming to research, promote, and edu9 cate on the legacy of Muhammad Ali. 

10 (2) Ten percent of the surcharges shall be paid 

11 to the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Jus12 tice at the University of Louisville to advance the 

13 work, study and practice of peacebuilding, social jus14 tice, and violence prevention through the develop15 ment of innovative educational programs, training, 

16 service, and research. 

17 (3) Ten percent of the surcharges shall be paid 

18 to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center (MAPC) 

19 and Movement Disorder Clinic to continue serving 

20 as a resource for Parkinson’s disease patients and 

21 their families through the provision of diagnosis, 

22 treatments, research, and education. 

23 (c) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the United 

24 States shall have the right to examine such books, records, 

25 documents, and other data of each of the organizations 


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1 referred to in subsection (b) as may be related to the ex2 penditures of amounts paid under that subsection. 

3 (d) LIMITATIONS.—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. 

Æ 


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