II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2744 

To authorize the minting and issuance of a Presidential $1 coin series. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2004 

Mr. SUNUNU (for himself, Mr. REID, Mrs. DOLE, and Mr. HARKIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the minting and issuance of a Presidential 

$1 coin series. 

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 ‘‘Presidential $1 Coin 

5 Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) there are sectors of the United States econ9 omy, including public transportation, parking me10 ters, vending machines, and low-dollar value trans-
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1 actions, in which the use of a $1 coin is both useful 

2 and desirable for keeping costs and prices down; 

3 (2) for a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin in4 troduced in 2000 has not been widely sought after 

5 by the public, leading to higher costs for merchants 

6 and higher prices for consumers; 

7 (3) the success of the 50 States Commemora8 tive Coin Program for circulating quarter dollars 

9 shows that a rotating design on a United States cir10 culating coin radically increases demand for the 

11 coin, rapidly pulling it through the economy; 

12 (4) the 50 States Commemorative Coin Pro13 gram also has been an educational tool, teaching 

14 both Americans and visitors something about each 

15 State for which a quarter has been issued; 

16 (5) a national survey and study by the General 

17 Accounting Office has indicated that many Ameri18 cans who do not seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin 

19 for use in commerce would actively seek the coin if 

20 an attractive, educational rotating design were to be 

21 struck on the coin; 

22 (6) the President is the leader of our tripartite 

23 government and the President’s spouse has often set 

24 the social tone for the White House while spear-
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1 heading and highlighting important issues for the 

2 country; 

3 (7) many people cannot name all of the former 

4 Presidents, and fewer can name their spouses or ac5 curately place each President in the proper time pe6 riod of American history; 

7 (8) First Spouses have not generally been rec8 ognized on American coinage; 

9 (9) Sacagawea, as currently represented on the 

10 new $1 coin, is an important symbol of American 

11 history; 

12 (10) in order to revitalize the design of United 

13 States coinage and return circulating coinage to its 

14 position as a necessary means of exchange in com15 merce and an object of aesthetic beauty in its own 

16 right, it is appropriate to move many of the mottos 

17 and emblems, the inscription of the year, and the so18 called ‘‘mint marks’’ that currently appear on the 2 

19 faces of each circulating coin to the edge of the coin, 

20 which would allow larger and more dramatic artwork 

21 on the coins reminiscent of the so-called ‘‘Golden 

22 Age of Coinage’’ in the United States, at the begin23 ning of the 20th century, initiated by President 

24 Theodore Roosevelt, with the assistance of noted 
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1 sculptors and medallic artists James Earle Fraser 

2 and Augustus St. Gaudens; 

3 (11) placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, 

4 known as edge-incusing, is a hallmark of modern 

5 coinage and is common in large-volume production 

6 of coinage elsewhere in the world, such as the 

7 2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation and coins 

8 of the People’s Republic of China, but it has not 

9 been done on a large scale in United States coinage 

10 in recent years; 

11 (12) bullion coins are a valuable tool for the in12 vestor and, in some cases, an important aspect of 

13 coin collecting; 

14 (13) although the Congress has authorized the 

15 Secretary of the Treasury to issue gold coins with a 

16 purity of 99.99 percent, the Secretary has not done 

17 so; and 

18 (14) by commencing the issuance of the Presi19 dential $1 coins in 2006, coins issued in uncir20 culated or proof qualities that commemorate the 

21 Presidency of Thomas Jefferson may appropriately 

22 be sold in sets with the coins of similar qualities that 

23 are issued in 2006 and commemorate the Lewis and 

24 Clark expedition, together with $1 coins that bear 

25 the image of Sacagawea and are struck for numis-
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1 matic purposes under section 5112(n)(1)(B) of title 

2 31, United States Code (as amended by section 3 of 

3 this Act). 

4 SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM. 

5 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(n) DESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF CIRCULATING $1 

8 COINS HONORING THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED

9 STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ISSUANCE BEGINNING IN 2006.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub12 section (d), and subject to subparagraph (B), 

13 all $1 coins issued on and after January 1, 

14 2006, shall have a design on the obverse se15 lected in accordance with paragraph (2)(B), 

16 which is emblematic of a deceased former Presi17 dent of the United States, and a design on the 

18 reverse selected in accordance with paragraph 

19 (2)(A). 

20 ‘‘(B) CONTINUITY PROVISION.—Notwith21 standing subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

22 continue to mint and issue $1 coins which bear 

23 any design in effect before the issuance of coins 

24 as required under this subsection, including any 
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1 $1 coin issued in accordance with subsection 

2 (d)(1). 

3 ‘‘(2) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—The $1 coins 

4 issued in accordance with this subsection shall meet 

5 the following design requirements: 

6 ‘‘(A) COIN REVERSE.—The design on the 

7 reverse shall bear— 

8 ‘‘(i) a likeness of the Statue of Lib9 erty extending to the rim of the coin and 

10 large enough to provide a dramatic rep11 resentation of Liberty, while not being 

12 large enough to create the impression of a 

13 ‘2-headed’ coin; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the inscription ‘$1’; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the inscription ‘United States of 

16 America’. 

17 ‘‘(B) COIN OBVERSE.—The design on the 

18 obverse shall contain the name and likeness of 

19 a deceased former President of the United 

20 States and basic information about that Presi21 dent, including the dates or years of the term 

22 of office of such President and a number indi23 cating the order of the period of service of that 

24 President. 
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1 ‘‘(C) EDGE-INCUSED INSCRIPTIONS.—The 

2 inscription of the year of minting or issuance of 

3 the coin and the inscriptions ‘E Pluribus 

4 Unum’ and ‘In God We Trust’ shall be edge5 incused into the coin. 

6 ‘‘(D) INSCRIPTIONS OF ‘LIBERTY’.—Not7 withstanding the second sentence of subsection 

8 (d)(1), because the use of a design bearing the 

9 likeness of the Statue of Liberty on the reverse 

10 of the coins issued under this subsection ade11 quately conveys the concept of Liberty, the in12 scription of ‘Liberty’ shall not appear on the 

13 coins. 

14 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION IN SERIES TO DECEASED

15 PRESIDENTS.—No coin issued under this sub16 section may bear the image of a living former 

17 or current President, or of any deceased former 

18 President during the 2-year period following the 

19 date of the death of that President. 

20 ‘‘(F) CONSISTENT DESIGN SPECIFICA21 TIONS.—To the extent possible, and except as 

22 otherwise provided in this subsection, design 

23 specifications for coins issued under this sub24 section shall be consistent with those applicable 

25 to $1 coins issued before the date of enactment 
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1 of this subsection, as determined appropriate by 

2 the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING

4 PRESIDENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ORDER OF ISSUANCE.—The coins 

6 issued under this subsection shall be issued in 

7 the order of the period of service of each de8 ceased former President, beginning with Presi9 dent George Washington. 

10 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF PERIOD OF SERV11 ICE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

13 (ii), only 1 coin design shall be issued for 

14 a period of service for any President, re15 gardless of the number of consecutive 

16 terms of office the President served. 

17 ‘‘(ii) NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS.—If a 

18 former President served during 2 or more 

19 nonconsecutive periods of service, a coin 

20 shall be issued under this subsection for 

21 each such nonconsecutive period of service. 

22 ‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 4

23 PRESIDENTS DURING EACH YEAR OF THE PERIOD.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the 

25 $1 coins issued in accordance with this sub-
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1 section during each calendar year, beginning 

2 with 2006, shall be emblematic of 4 deceased 

3 former Presidents, issued in the order estab4 lished under paragraph (3). 

5 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 4 CIRCULATING

6 COIN DESIGNS IN EACH YEAR.—The Secretary 

7 shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as 

8 the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 

9 number of $1 coins that shall be issued with 

10 each of the designs selected for each calendar 

11 year. 

12 ‘‘(5) ISSUANCE OF NUMISMATIC COINS.—The 

13 Secretary may mint and issue such number of $1 

14 coins of each design selected under this subsection 

15 in uncirculated and proof qualities as the Secretary 

16 determines to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(6) REFERENCES.—References in this section 

18 and other provisions of law to the ‘Presidential $1 

19 Coin Program’ shall be construed to refer to this 

20 subsection.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. FIRST SPOUSE COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM. 

22 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as 

23 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(o) FIRST SPOUSE COMMEMORATIVE COIN PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the same period in 

4 which the $1 coins are issued under subsection (n), 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue commemo6 rative coins under this subsection that are emblem7 atic of the spouse of each deceased former President 

8 of the United States honored under subsection (n). 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS.—Notwithstanding sub10 section (a)(9), the coins issued under this subsection 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) have the same diameter as the $1 

13 coins described in subsection (n); 

14 ‘‘(B) weigh 0.5 ounce; and 

15 ‘‘(C) contain 99.99 percent pure gold. 

16 ‘‘(3) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) COIN OBVERSE.—The design on the 

18 obverse of each coin issued under this sub19 section shall contain— 

20 ‘‘(i) the name and likeness of the per21 son who was the spouse of a United States 

22 President during that President’s period of 

23 service as President; 

24 ‘‘(ii) an inscription of the years during 

25 which such person was the spouse of a 
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1 President during that President’s period of 

2 service as President; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the number indicating the order 

4 of the President’s period of service as 

5 President. 

6 ‘‘(B) COIN REVERSE.—The design on the 

7 reverse of each coin issued under this sub8 section shall bear— 

9 ‘‘(i) images emblematic of the life and 

10 work of the First Spouse whose image is 

11 borne on the obverse; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the inscription ‘United States of 

13 America’. 

14 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATED DENOMINATION.—Each 

15 coin issued under this subsection shall bear, on 

16 the reverse, an inscription of the nominal de17 nomination of the coin, which shall be ‘$10’. 

18 ‘‘(D) DESIGN IN CASE OF NO FIRST

19 SPOUSE.—In the case of any President who 

20 served without a spouse— 

21 ‘‘(i) the image on the obverse of the 

22 commemorative coin corresponding to the 

23 $1 coin relating to such President shall be 

24 an image emblematic of the concept of 

25 ‘Liberty’— 
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1 ‘‘(I) as represented on a United 

2 States coin issued during the period 

3 of service of such President; or 

4 ‘‘(II) as represented, in the case 

5 of former President Chester Alan Ar6 thur, by a design incorporating the 

7 name and likeness of Alice Paul, a 

8 leading strategist in the suffrage 

9 movement, who was instrumental in 

10 gaining women the right to vote upon 

11 the adoption of the 19th Amendment 

12 to the Constitution of the United 

13 States, and thus participated in the 

14 election of future Presidents, and who 

15 was born on January 11, 1885, dur16 ing the term of President Arthur; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the reverse of such commemora18 tive coin shall be of a design representative 

19 of themes of such President, except that in 

20 the case of the commemorative coin re21 ferred to in clause (i)(II) the reverse of 

22 such coin shall be representative of the suf23 frage movement. 

24 ‘‘(E) DESIGN AND COIN FOR EACH

25 SPOUSE.—A separate coin shall be designed and 
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1 issued under this section for each person who 

2 was the spouse of a President during any por3 tion of a term of office of such President. 

4 ‘‘(F) INSCRIPTIONS.—Each commemora5 tive coin issued under this subsection shall bear 

6 the inscription of the year of minting or 

7 issuance of the coin and such other inscriptions 

8 as the Secretary may determine to be appro9 priate. 

10 ‘‘(4) SALE OF COMMEMORATIVE COINS.—Each 

11 commemorative coin issued under this subsection 

12 shall be sold for an amount the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury determines to be appropriate that is equal 

14 to or greater than the sum of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the face value of the coins; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the cost of designing and issuing the 

17 coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of 

18 machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and 

19 shipping). 

20 ‘‘(5) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING

21 FIRST SPOUSES.—The commemorative coins issued 

22 under this subsection with respect to any spouse of 

23 a President shall be issued on the same schedule as 

24 the $1 coin issued under subsection (n) with respect 

25 to such President. 
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1 ‘‘(6) QUALITY OF COINS.—The commemorative 

2 coins issued under this subsection shall be issued in 

3 both proof and uncirculated qualities. 

4 ‘‘(7) SOURCE OF GOLD BULLION.—The Sec5 retary shall acquire gold for the coins issued under 

6 this subsection by purchase of only newly mined gold 

7 from the United States, or a territory or possession 

8 of the United States. The Secretary shall pay not 

9 more than the average world price for the gold.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO CIRCULATION. 

11 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as 

12 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(p) REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO CIRCULATION OF $1 

15 COIN.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ACCEPTANCE BY AGENCIES AND INSTRU17 MENTALITIES.—Beginning January 1, 2005, all 

18 agencies and instrumentalities of the United States, 

19 the United States Postal Service, all non20 appropriated fund instrumentalities established 

21 under title 10, all transportation and transit systems 

22 and entities that receive operational subsidies or any 

23 disbursement of funds from the Federal Govern24 ment, such as funds from the Federal Highway 

25 Trust Fund, including the Mass Transit Account, 
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1 and all entities that operate any business, including 

2 vending machines, on any premises owned by the 

3 United States or under the control of any agency or 

4 instrumentality of the United States, including the 

5 legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Gov6 ernment, shall take such action as may be appro7 priate to ensure that by the end of the 1-year period 

8 beginning on such date— 

9 ‘‘(A) any business operations conducted by 

10 any such agency, instrumentality, system, or 

11 entity that involve coins or currency shall be 

12 fully capable of accepting and dispensing $1 

13 coins in connection with such operations; and 

14 ‘‘(B) signs and notices denoting such capa15 bility will be prominently displayed on the 

16 premises where coins or currency are accepted 

17 or dispensed, including on each vending ma18 chine. 

19 ‘‘(2) PUBLICITY.—The Director of the United 

20 States Mint, shall work closely with consumer 

21 groups, media outlets, and schools to ensure an ade22 quate amount of news coverage, and other means of 

23 increasing public awareness, to ensure that con24 sumers know of the availability of the coin. 
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1 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Board of Governors 

2 of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of 

3 the Treasury shall take steps to ensure that an ade4 quate supply of $1 coins is available for commerce 

5 and collectors at such places and in such quantities 

6 as are appropriate, by— 

7 ‘‘(A) meeting, at least monthly on a reg8 ular basis, with a coin users group that includes 

9 representatives of merchants who would benefit 

10 from the increased usage of $1 coins, vending 

11 machine and other coin acceptor manufacturers, 

12 vending machine owners and operators, transit 

13 officials, municipal parking officials, depository 

14 institutions, coin and currency handlers, ar15 mored-car operators, and coin collectors and 

16 dealers to accurately gauge demand for coins 

17 and to anticipate and eliminate obstacles to the 

18 easy and efficient distribution and circulation of 

19 coins issued under the Presidential $1 Coin 

20 Program, as well as all other circulating coins; 

21 ‘‘(B) submitting a semiannual report to 

22 the Congress containing an assessment of the 

23 remaining obstacles to the efficient and timely 

24 circulation of coins, and particularly coins 

25 issued under the Presidential $1 Coin Program, 
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1 together with such recommendations for legisla2 tive action as the Board and the Secretary may 

3 determine to be appropriate; 

4 ‘‘(C) ensuring that as many vending ma5 chines and other automated coin-accepting de6 vices in the United States as possible accept 

7 coins issued under the Presidential $1 Coin 

8 Program and carry notices of such accept9 ability; 

10 ‘‘(D) ensuring that— 

11 ‘‘(i) all institutions that want unmixed 

12 supplies of each design of $1 coins are able 

13 to obtain such unmixed supplies; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) circulating coins will be available 

15 for ordinary commerce in packaging of 

16 sizes and types appropriate for and useful 

17 to ordinary commerce, including rolled 

18 coins; 

19 ‘‘(E) working closely with any agency, in20 strumentality, system, or entity referred to in 

21 paragraph (1) to facilitate compliance with the 

22 requirements of such paragraph; and 

23 ‘‘(F) identifying, analyzing, and over24 coming barriers to the robust circulation of $1 

25 coins, including the use of demand prediction, 
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1 improved methods of distribution and circula2 tion, and improved public education and aware3 ness campaigns. 

4 ‘‘(4) BULLION DEALERS.—The Director of the 

5 United States Mint shall take all steps necessary to 

6 ensure that a maximum number of reputable, reli7 able, and responsible dealers are qualified to offer 

8 for sale all bullion coins struck and issued by the 

9 United States Mint. 

10 ‘‘(5) SEQUESTRATION.—At such time as the 

11 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

12 determines to be appropriate, after consultation with 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury and the submission of 

14 notice to Congress, the Board shall separate and se15 quester, and not put back into circulation, any $1 

16 coin that comes into the possession of the Board or 

17 any Federal reserve bank, and that does not bear— 

18 ‘‘(A) a design specified under subsection 

19 (n); or 

20 ‘‘(B) a design selected by the Secretary of 

21 the Treasury pursuant to subsection (d)(1) be22 fore the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 

23 SEC. 6. GOLD BULLION COINS. 

24 Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as 

25 amended by this Act, is amended— 
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1 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(11) A twenty dollar gold coin that is an ap4 propriate size and thickness, as determined by the 

5 Secretary, weighs 1 ounce, and contains 99.99 per6 cent pure gold.’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(q) GOLD BULLION COINS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary of the Treasury shall commence striking and 

12 issuing for sale such number of $20 gold bullion 

13 coins as the Secretary may determine to be appro14 priate, not to exceed 500,000 in any year. 

15 ‘‘(2) INITIAL DESIGN.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

17 under subparagraph (B), the obverse and re18 verse of the gold bullion coins struck under this 

19 subsection during the first year of issuance 

20 shall bear the original designs by James Earle 

21 Fraser, which appear on the 5-cent coin com22 monly referred to as the ‘Buffalo nickel’ or the 

23 ‘1913 Type 1’. 

24 ‘‘(B) VARIATIONS.—The coins referred to 

25 in subparagraph (A) shall— 
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1 ‘‘(i) have inscriptions of the weight of 

2 the coin and the nominal denomination of 

3 the coin incused in that portion of the de4 sign on the reverse of the coin commonly 

5 known as the ‘grassy mound’; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) bear such other inscriptions as 

7 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT DESIGNS.—After the 1-year 

9 period described to in paragraph (2), the Secretary 

10 may— 

11 ‘‘(A) after consulting with the Commission 

12 of Fine Arts, and subject to the review of the 

13 Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, change 

14 the design on the obverse or reverse of gold bul15 lion coins struck under this subsection; and 

16 ‘‘(B) change the maximum number of 

17 coins issued in any year. 

18 ‘‘(4) SOURCE OF GOLD BULLION.—The Sec19 retary shall obtain gold for minting coins under this 

20 subsection only by purchase of newly mined gold 

21 from the United States, or a territory or possession 

22 of the United States. The Secretary shall pay not 

23 more than the average world price for the gold. 

24 ‘‘(5) SALE OF COINS.—Each gold bullion coin 

25 issued under this subsection shall be sold for an 
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1 amount the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 

2 but not less than the sum of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the face value of the coins; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the cost of designing and issuing the 

5 coins, including labor, materials, dies, use of 

6 machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and 

7 shipping.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that— 

10 (1) the American tradition of not issuing a coin 

11 with the image of a living person has served the 

12 country well and deserves to be continued as a gen13 eral practice; 

14 (2) the full circulation potential and cost-sav15 ings benefit projections for the Presidential $1 Coin 

16 Program are not likely to be achieved unless the 

17 coins are delivered in ways useful to ordinary com18 merce; 

19 (3) the coins issued in connection with such 

20 Program should not be introduced with an overly ex21 pensive taxpayer-funded public relations campaign; 

22 (4) in order for the Presidential $1 Coin Pro23 gram to achieve maximum success— 

24 (A) the coin should be as attractive as pos25 sible; and 
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1 (B) the Director of the United States Mint 

2 should take all reasonable steps to ensure that 

3 the coins described in section 5112(n) of title 

4 31, United States Code, remain tarnish-free for 

5 as long as possible without incurring undue ex6 pense; and 

7 (5) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines 

8 to include on any $1 coin minted under such Pro9 gram a mark denoting the United States Mint facil10 ity at which the coin was struck, such mark should 

11 be edge-incused. 

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