I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5131 

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

the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 1, 2023 

Ms. TENNEY (for herself, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. 

MOLINARO, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Mr. 

MORELLE, and Mr. TONKO) 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 recognition of the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. 

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 ‘‘Erie Canal Bicenten5 nial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Built between 1817 and 1825, the original 

2 Erie Canal traversed 363 miles from Albany to Buf3 falo. 

4 (2) The Erie Canal was the longest artificial 

5 waterway and the greatest public works project in 

6 North America. 

7 (3) The Erie Canal was one of the most impor8 tant steps in the United States initiating its indus9 trial revolution, rapidly increasing the productivity 

10 of agriculture and the spread of machinery and 

11 manufactured goods. 

12 (4) The Erie Canal cut the travel time between 

13 Albany and Buffalo in half and reduced freight rates 

14 by 90 percent. This allowed midwestern farmers and 

15 industry to have new access to distant markets. 

16 (5) The Erie Canal opened up the American in17 terior for settlement and enabled a new flow of peo18 ple and ideas. This fueled social reform movements 

19 such as abolitionism, women’s suffrage, utopian 

20 communities, and multiple religious movements 

21 along the canal corridor. 

22 (6) The Erie Canal continues to define the ge23 ography of upstate New York with 80 percent of the 

24 upstate New York population living withing 25 miles 

25 of the corridor. 


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1 (7) After 200 years the Erie Canal is still a re2 source for its local communities as a close to home 

3 recreational destination for boaters, bikers, and 

4 walkers. 

5 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

6 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas7 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

8 shall mint and issue the following coin: 

9 (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 

10 coins, which shall— 

11 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

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

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

14 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 

15 $1 coins, which shall— 

16 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

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

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

20 than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 

21 (A) weigh 11.34 grams; 

22 (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 

23 (C) be minted to the specifications for half24 dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 

25 31, United States Code. 


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

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

3 title 31, United States Code. 

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

5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

6 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis7 matic items. 

8 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

9 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

11 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

12 Erie Canal and its impact on the development of the 

13 United States and New York State. 

14 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

15 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

17 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2026’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer20 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

22 under this Act shall be— 

23 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

24 with— 

25 (A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and 


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1 (B) Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc.; 

2 and 

3 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

4 Committee. 

5 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

7 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

8 (b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

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

10 period beginning on January 1, 2026. 

11 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

14 of— 

15 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

17 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

20 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

23 discount. 

24 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 


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

2 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

3 before the issuance of such coins. 

4 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre5 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea6 sonable discount. 

7 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

9 Act shall include a surcharge of— 

10 (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; 

11 (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

12 (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin. 

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

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

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

16 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Erie 

17 Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc., to support the historic 

18 preservation, conservation, recreation, interpretation, 

19 tourism, and community development of the Erie 

20 Canalway National Heritage Corridor and for educational 

21 and commemorative programs of the Erie Canal’s history 

22 and impact on our Nation’s history. 

23 (c) AUDITS.—The recipient of surcharges under this 

24 Act 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 may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

13 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

14 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec15 essary to ensure that— 

16 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

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

18 Government; and 

19 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

20 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec21 tion 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing 

22 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

23 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex24 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

25 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 


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1 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

2 Code. 

Æ 


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