II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2395 

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

of the centenary of the bestowal of the Nobel Peace Prize on President 

Theodore Roosevelt, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 10, 2004 

Mr. CONRAD 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 centenary of the bestowal of 

the Nobel Peace Prize on President Theodore Roosevelt, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Theodore Roosevelt 

5 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 
2 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (1) Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s great2 est presidents, was born on October 27, 1858, in 

3 New York City, New York; 

4 (2) at the young age of 23, Theodore Roosevelt 

5 was elected to the first of 3 terms as a representa6 tive in the New York State Assembly (1882–1884); 

7 (3) from 1895 to 1897, Theodore Roosevelt 

8 served as Commissioner of the New York City Police 

9 Department; 

10 (4) while serving as Assistant Secretary of the 

11 Navy under President William McKinley (1897– 

12 1898), Theodore Roosevelt organized the First 

13 United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, popu14 larly known as the ‘‘Rough Riders’’, and then served 

15 as Colonel of this regiment during the Spanish16 American War; 

17 (5) from 1898 to 1900, Theodore Roosevelt 

18 served as Governor of New York; 

19 (6) in 1900, with the election of President 

20 McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt was elected as the 

21 25th Vice-President of the United States; 

22 (7) becoming the 26th President of the United 

23 States the following year, Theodore Roosevelt took a 

24 very active role in foreign affairs, establishing the 

25 United States as a new world power, and instituted 
3 

•S 2395 IS 

1 broad reforms, at home, particularly with respect to 

2 labor, monopolies, and conservation, until the end of 

3 his presidency in 1909; 

4 (8) Theodore Roosevelt’s commitment to con5 servation stemmed from his experiences as a rancher 

6 in the badlands of North Dakota from 1883 to 1886 

7 and earned him the title of the ‘‘Conservationist 

8 President’’ for his efforts in establishing 51 Bird 

9 Reserves, 4 Game Preserves, 150 National Forests, 

10 5 National Parks, and 18 National Monuments, to11 talling nearly 230 million acres of land placed under 

12 public protection during his presidency; 

13 (9) on January 16, 2001, Theodore Roosevelt 

14 was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal 

15 of Honor for leading a charge up the San Juan 

16 Heights in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, 

17 shortly before the war ended, thereby becoming the 

18 first President of the United States to be awarded 

19 the Congressional Medal of Honor; and 

20 (10) 2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of 

21 Theodore Roosevelt receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, 

22 the first citizen of the United States to receive such 

23 prize, for drawing up the 1905 peace treaty ending 

24 the Russo-Japanese War. 
4 

•S 2395 IS 

1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

4 shall mint and issue the following coins: 

5 (1) $1 SILVER COINS WITH ROUGH RIDER DE6 SIGN ON OBVERSE.—Not more than 500,000 $1 

7 coins bearing the designs specified in section 

8 4(a)(2), each of which shall— 

9 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

11 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per12 cent copper. 

13 (2) $1 SILVER COINS WITH ADVENTURER DE14 SIGN ON OBVERSE.—Not more than 500,000 $1 

15 coins bearing the designs specified in section 

16 4(a)(3), each of which shall— 

17 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

19 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per20 cent copper. 

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

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

23 title 31, United States Code. 

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

25 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

26 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
5 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (d) USE OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT WEST

2 POINT, NEW YORK.—It is the sense of Congress that the 

3 coins minted under this Act should be struck at the United 

4 States Mint at West Point, New York, to the greatest ex5 tent possible. 

6 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

7 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

9 minted under this Act shall— 

10 (A) be emblematic of the life and legacy of 

11 President Theodore Roosevelt; and 

12 (B) use the designs of James Earle Fraser 

13 or Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 2 sculptors most 

14 closely associated with the revitalization of the 

15 United States coinage, commonly referred to as 

16 the ‘‘Golden Age of American Coin Design’’, 

17 that was initiated by President Theodore Roo18 sevelt. 

19 (2) $1 COINS WITH ROUGH RIDER DESIGN.— 

20 (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins 

21 minted under section 3(a)(1) shall bear the 

22 image of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider 

23 that was used on the James Earle Fraser 

24 medal of 1920. 
6 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins 

2 minted under section 3(a)(1) shall bear the 

3 eagle design, with motto, from the $20 gold 

4 ‘‘double eagle’’ coin produced between 1907 and 

5 1933 and designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 

6 (3) $1 COINS WITH ADVENTURER DESIGN.— 

7 (A) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins 

8 minted under section 3(a)(2) shall bear the 

9 image of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, 

10 based on James Earle Fraser’s monumental 16- 

11 foot high bronze equestrian figure of Roosevelt 

12 that— 

13 (i) stands at the east front of the 

14 American Museum of Natural History in 

15 New York City; and 

16 (ii) recognizes Roosevelt’s lifelong ac17 tivity as a naturalist and conservationist 

18 and emphasizes him as an adventurer, out19 doorsman, and hunter. 

20 (B) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins 

21 minted under section 3(a)(2) shall bear the de22 sign based on the reverse designs by James 

23 Earle Fraser used on the Roosevelt Memorial 

24 Association Medal of Honor and the Associa25 tion’s Founders Medal that— 
7 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (i) depict the crusader’s flaming 

2 sword of righteousness and evoke the ‘‘Big 

3 Stick’’ philosophy that President Roosevelt 

4 espoused; and 

5 (ii) to the left and right of the flaming 

6 sword in 4 lines bear the quotation ‘‘If I 

7 Must Choose Between Righteousness and 

8 Peace, I Choose Righteousness.’’ from 

9 Roosevelt’s historical work, ‘‘Unwise Peace 

10 Treaties’’. 

11 (4) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

12 each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 

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

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

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

16 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer17 ica’’, and ‘‘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 

22 (2) reviewed by the citizens advisory committee 

23 established under section 5135 of title 31, United 

24 States Code. 
8 

•S 2395 IS 

1 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

3 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

4 (b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

5 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

6 1, 2006, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of 

7 such coins, without issuance, before such date. 

8 (c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

9 coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31, 

10 2006. 

11 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

12 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, the coins minted under this Act shall be sold 

14 by the Secretary at a price equal to the face value, plus 

15 the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including 

16 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex17 penses, and marketing). 

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

19 sales of the coins minted under this Act at a reasonable 

20 discount. 

21 (c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.— 

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

23 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

24 before the issuance of such coins. 
9 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre2 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea3 sonable discount. 

4 (d) SALES OF SINGLE COINS AND SETS OF COINS.— 

5 Coins of each design specified under section 4 may be sold 

6 separately or as a set containing a coin of each such de7 sign. 

8 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

9 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales of coins mint10 ed under this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per 

11 coin. 

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

13 title 31, United States Code, and subsection (c) of this 

14 section, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary 

15 from the sale of coins minted under this Act shall be 

16 promptly paid by the Secretary to— 

17 (1) the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be 

18 used exclusively for— 

19 (A) educational programs at Sagamore 

20 Hill National Historic Site, operated by the Na21 tional Park Service, including construction and 

22 maintenance of a visitor’s center; and 

23 (B) setting up a curatorial chair and pur24 chase fund for the Theodore Roosevelt Collec25 tion at the Harvard University Library; and 
10 

•S 2395 IS 

1 (2) the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, 

2 to be used exclusively for educational programs at 

3 and around the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 

4 including construction of the Theodore Roosevelt 

5 Badlands Institute in the badlands of North Dakota. 

6 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—With respect to 

7 surcharges received under this section— 

8 (1) the first $2,250,000 of any such surcharges 

9 received shall be paid to the Theodore Roosevelt As10 sociation; and 

11 (2) of amounts of any such surcharges received 

12 in excess of $2,250,000— 

13 (A) three-fifths shall be paid to the Theo14 dore Roosevelt Association; and 

15 (B) two-fifths shall be paid to the Theo16 dore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. 

17 (d) AUDITS.—The Theodore Roosevelt Association 

18 and the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation shall be 

19 subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of 

20 title 31, United States Code, for purposes of this Act. 

Æ