II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 168

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

of the San Francisco Old Mint. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 15, 2003

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. BOXER) 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 San Francisco Old Mint.

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 ‘‘San Francisco Old 

5 Mint Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the San Francisco Old Mint played an im9 portant role in the history of the Nation; 
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1 (2) the San Francisco Old Mint was established 

2 to convert miners’ gold from the California gold rush 

3 into coins; 

4 (3) the San Francisco Old Mint Building was 

5 designed by architect A.B. Mullett, who also de6 signed the United States Treasury Building and the 

7 Old Executive Office Building; 

8 (4) the solid construction of the San Francisco 

9 Old Mint Building enabled it to survive the 1906 

10 San Francisco earthquake and fire, making it the 

11 only financial institution that was able to operate 

12 immediately after the earthquake and the treasury 

13 for disaster relief funds for the city of San Fran14 cisco; 

15 (5) coins struck at the San Francisco Old Mint 

16 are distinguished by the ‘‘S’’ Mint Mark; 

17 (6) the San Francisco Old Mint is famous for 

18 many rare, legendary issues, such as the 1870–S $3 

19 coin, which is valued today at well over $1,000,000; 

20 and 

21 (7) the San Francisco Old Mint Commemora22 tive Coin will be the first commemorative coin to 

23 honor a mint. 
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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of the San 

3 Francisco Old Mint, the Secretary of the Treasury (in this 

4 Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue 

5 the following coins: 

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

7 $5 coins, each of which shall—

8 (A) weigh 8.359 grams; 

9 (B) have a diameter of .850 inches; and 

10 (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 

11 alloy. 

12 (2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 

13 $1 coins, each of which shall—

14 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

16 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per17 cent alloy. 

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

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

20 title 31, United States Code. 

21 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—All coins minted under this 

22 Act shall be considered to be numismatic items for pur23 poses of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code. 

24 SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION. 

25 The Secretary may obtain gold and silver for minting 

26 coins under this Act from any available source. 
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•S 168 IS 

1 SEC. 5. DESIGN OF COINS. 

2 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

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

4 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

5 San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to 

6 California and the history of the United States, and 

7 its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 

8 earthquake and fire. 

9 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—Each 

10 coin minted under this Act shall contain—

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

12 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2006’’; and 

13 (C) inscriptions of the words—

14 (i) ‘‘Liberty’’; 

15 (ii) ‘‘In God We Trust’’; 

16 (iii) ‘‘United States of America’’; and 

17 (iv) ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

19 under this Act shall be—

20 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

21 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Board of 

22 the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society; 

23 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative 

24 Coin Advisory Committee; and 

25 (3) reviewed by the Board of the San Francisco 

26 Museum and Historical Society. 
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1 SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

3 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

5 issue coins minted under this Act only during the period 

6 beginning on January 1, 2006, and ending on December 

7 31, 2006. 

8 (c) MINT FACILITY.—The coins authorized under 

9 this section shall be struck at the San Francisco Mint to 

10 the greatest extent possible. 

11 SEC. 7. 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) a surcharge in an amount equal to—

17 (A) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and 

18 (B) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and 

19 (3) the per capita cost of designing and issuing 

20 the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of ma21 chinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and ship22 ping). 

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

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

25 discount. 

26 (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. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 5134(f) of title 

9 31, United States Code, all proceeds received by the Sec10 retary from any surcharge imposed on the sale of coins 

11 issued under this Act shall be paid by the Secretary to 

12 the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. 

13 (b) AUDITS.—As a condition of receiving payments 

14 under subsection (a), the San Francisco Museum and His15 torical Society shall be subject to the audit requirements 

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

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