I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3916

To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion coin, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2004

Mr. CASTLE (for himself and Mrs. MALONEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL

To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion 

coin, 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 ‘‘Presidential $1 Coin 

5 Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

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 

4 introduced in 2000 has not been widely sought-after 

5 by the public, leading to higher costs for merchants 

6 and thus higher prices for consumers. 

7 (3) The success of the 50-State circulating com8 memorative quarter program shows that a rotating 

9 design on a United States circulating coin radically 

10 increases demand for the coin, rapidly pulling it 

11 through the economy. 

12 (4) The 50-State circulating commemorative 

13 quarter program also has been an educational tool, 

14 teaching both Americans and visitors something 

15 about each State for which a quarter has been 

16 issued. 

17 (5) A national survey and study by the General 

18 Accounting Office has indicated that many Ameri19 cans who do not seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin 

20 for use in commerce would actively seek the coin if 

21 an attractive, educational rotating design were to be 

22 struck on the coin. 

23 (6) The President is the leader of our tripartite 

24 government and the President’s spouse has often set 

25 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 Presi4 dents, and fewer can name the spouses, nor can 

5 many people accurately place the President in the 

6 proper time period of American history. 

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

9 (9) Sacagewea, 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 not only a necessary means of exchange 

15 in commerce but as representation of aesthetic beau16 ty, it is appropriate to move many of the mottos and 

17 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 Twentieth Century, initiated by Presi24 dent Theodore Roosevelt, with the assistance of 
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1 noted sculptors and medallic artists James Earle 

2 Fraser 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 the coin-collector field. 

14 (13) Although the Congress has authorized the 

15 Secretary of the Treasury to issue gold coins with a 

16 purity of .9999 percent, the Secretary has not done 

17 so. 

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 be sold in sets 

22 with the coins of similar qualities that are issued in 

23 2006 and commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedi24 tion, together with $1 coins that bear the image of 

25 Sacagewea and are struck for numismatic purposes 
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1 under section 5112(n)(1)(B) of title 31, United 

2 States Code (as amended by section 3 of this Act). 

3 SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM. 

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

5 amended by inserting after subsection (m) the following 

6 new subsection: 

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

8 COINS HONORING EACH OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE

9 UNITED STATES.—

10 ‘‘(1) REDESIGN BEGINNING IN 2006.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub12 section (d), $1 coins issued during the appro13 priate period beginning January 1, 2006, shall 

14 have designs on the obverse and reverse sides 

15 selected in accordance with this subsection 

16 which are emblematic of the Presidents of the 

17 United States. 

18 ‘‘(B) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Notwith19 standing subparagraph (A), the Secretary may 

20 continue to mint and issue $1 coins in 2006 

21 which bear the design in effect before the rede22 sign required under this subsection, as required 

23 for numismatic purposes and to ensure a 

24 smooth transition into the presidential coin pro25 gram under this subsection. 
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1 ‘‘(2) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—The $1 coins 

2 issued in accordance with paragraph (1)(A) shall 

3 meet the following design requirements: 

4 ‘‘(A) COIN REVERSE.—The reverse of the 

5 coin shall bear—

6 ‘‘(i) a likeness of the Statue of Lib7 erty extending to the rim of the coin and 

8 large enough to provide a dramatic rep9 resentation of Liberty while not being large 

10 enough to create the impression of a ‘2-

11 headed’ coin; 

12 ‘‘(ii) an inscription, using Arabic nu13 merals, of the value of the coin; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) an inscription of the ‘United 

15 States of America’. 

16 ‘‘(B) COIN OBVERSE.—The obverse of the 

17 coin shall contain the name and likeness of a 

18 President of the United States along with basic 

19 information about the President, including the 

20 dates of the term of office of such President 

21 and a number indicating the order of the term 

22 of service in which the President served. 

23 ‘‘(C) EDGE-INCUSED INSCRIPTIONS.—So 

24 that the images on the obverse and reverse of 

25 each coin may stretch completely to the rim of 
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1 the coin for dramatic effect similar to the coin 

2 designs of St. Gaudens and James Earle Fra3 ser, the inscription of the year of issuance of 

4 the coin and the inscriptions required under 

5 subsection (d)(1), other than the designation of 

6 the value of the coin or the inscriptions referred 

7 to in subparagraphs (A)(iii) and (D), shall be 

8 edge-incused into the coin. 

9 ‘‘(D) INSCRIPTIONS OF ‘LIBERTY’.—Not10 withstanding the 2d sentence of subsection 

11 (d)(1), because the use of the Statue of Liberty 

12 on the reverse of the coins issued under this 

13 subsection adequately conveys the concept of 

14 Liberty, an inscription of ‘Liberty’ shall not ap15 pear on either face of such coins or the edge of 

16 the coins. 

17 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON INCLUSION OF SIT18 TING PRESIDENT IN SERIES.—No coin issued 

19 under this subsection may bear the image of a 

20 President who has not completed such Presi21 dent’s term of service. 

22 ‘‘(3) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING

23 PRESIDENTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) ORDER OF ISSUANCE.—The coins 

25 issued under this subsection commemorating 
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1 Presidents of the United States shall be issued 

2 in the order of the term of service of each 

3 President, beginning with President George 

4 Washington. 

5 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TERM OF SERVICE.—

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

7 (ii), only 1 coin design shall be issued per 

8 order of service for any President, no mat9 ter how many consecutive terms of office 

10 the President served. 

11 ‘‘(ii) NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS.—If a 

12 President has served during 2 or more 

13 nonconsecutive terms of service, a coin 

14 shall be issued under this subsection for 

15 each such nonconsecutive term of service. 

16 ‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 4

17 PRESIDENTS DURING EACH YEAR OF THE PERIOD.—

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

19 $1 coins issued during each year of the period 

20 referred to in paragraph (1) shall be emblem21 atic of 4 Presidents selected in the order in 

22 which they served as President until each Presi23 dent has been so honored. 

24 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 4 COIN DE25 SIGNS IN EACH YEAR.—Of the $1 coins issued 
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1 during each year of the period referred to in 

2 paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury 

3 shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as 

4 the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 

5 number of $1 coins which shall be issued with 

6 each of the 4 designs selected for such year. 

7 ‘‘(5) SELECTION OF DESIGN.—Each of the de8 signs required under this subsection for $1 coins 

9 shall be—

10 ‘‘(A) selected by the Secretary after con11 sultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Ad14 visory Committee. 

15 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For 

16 purposes of sections 5134 and 5136, all coins mint17 ed under this subsection shall be considered to be 

18 numismatic items. 

19 ‘‘(7) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may mint and 

20 issue such number of $1 coins of each design se21 lected under paragraph (5) in uncirculated and proof 

22 qualities as the Secretary determines to be appro23 priate. 

24 ‘‘(8) REVERSION TO PRECEDING DESIGN.—

25 Upon the completion of the series of designs re-
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1 quired by this subsection, the design of the $1 coin 

2 shall revert to the design in use prior to the issuance 

3 of coins in accordance with this subsection.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM. 

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

6 amended by inserting after subsection (n) (as added by 

7 section 3 of this Act) the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(o) FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.—

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

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

11 which are emblematic of the Presidents of the 

12 United States, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

13 issue bullion coins under this subsection that are 

14 emblematic of the spouse of each such President. 

15 ‘‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS.—The coins issued under 

16 this subsection shall—

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

18 coins described in subsection (n); 

19 ‘‘(B) be of an appropriate weight and 

20 thickness; and 

21 ‘‘(C) contain .9999 percent pure gold. 

22 ‘‘(3) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) COIN OBVERSE.—The obverse of each 

24 coin issued under this subsection shall contain 

25 the name and likeness of a First Spouse, an in-
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1 scription of the years of service and a number 

2 indicating the order in which his or her spouse 

3 served as President. 

4 ‘‘(B) COIN REVERSE.—The reverse of each 

5 coin issued under this subsection shall bear—

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

7 work of the First Spouse whose image is 

8 borne on the obverse; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) an inscription of the ‘United 

10 States of America’. 

11 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATED DENOMINATION.—Each 

12 coin issued under this subsection shall bear, on 

13 the reverse, an inscription of the designated de14 nomination of the coin, using Arabic numerals, 

15 which shall be $10. 

16 ‘‘(D) DESIGN IN CASE OF NO FIRST

17 SPOUSE.—In the case of any President who 

18 served without a spouse—

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

20 bullion coin corresponding to the $1 coin 

21 relating to such President shall be an 

22 image of the concept of ‘Liberty’—

23 ‘‘(I) as represented on a United 

24 States coin issued during the term of 

25 such President; or 
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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of President 

2 Chester Alan Arthur, incorporating 

3 the name and likeness of Alice Paul, 

4 a leading strategist in the suffrage 

5 movement, who was instrumental in 

6 gaining women the right to vote upon 

7 the adoption of the 19th amendment 

8 and thus participate in the election of 

9 future Presidents, and who was born 

10 on January 11, 1885, during the term 

11 of President Arthur; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin 

13 shall be of a design representative of 

14 themes of such President, except that in 

15 the case of the bullion coin referred to in 

16 clause (i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall 

17 be representative of the sufferage move18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(E) DESIGN AND COIN FOR EACH

20 SPOUSE.—A coin shall be designed and issued 

21 under this section for each person who was the 

22 spouse of a President during any portion of a 

23 term of office of such President. 

24 ‘‘(F) EDGE-INCUSED INSCRIPTIONS.—So 

25 that the images on the obverse and reverse of 
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1 each coin may stretch completely to the rim of 

2 the coin for dramatic effect, the inscription of 

3 the year of issuance of the coin and the inscrip4 tions required under subsection (d)(1), other 

5 than the designation of the value of the coin, 

6 shall be edge-incused into the coin. 

7 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF DESIGN.—Each of the de8 signs required under this subsection for $1 coins 

9 shall be—

10 ‘‘(A) selected by the Secretary after con11 sultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Ad14 visory Committee. 

15 ‘‘(5) SALE OF BULLION COINS.—Each bullion 

16 coin issued under this subsection shall be sold for an 

17 amount the Secretary of the Treasury determines to 

18 be appropriate that is equal to or greater than the 

19 sum of—

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

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

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

23 machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and 

24 shipping). 
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1 ‘‘(6) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING

2 FIRST SPOUSES.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The bullion coins 

4 issued under this section with respect to any 

5 spouse of a President shall be issued on the 

6 same schedule as the $1 coin issued under sub7 section (n) with respect to such President. 

8 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF PROGRAM.—No 

9 bullion coin may be issued under this section 

10 after the design on the $1 coin reverts, in ac11 cordance with subsection (n)(8), to the design 

12 of the $1 coin preceding the program the 

13 issuance of coins under subsection (n). 

14 ‘‘(7) QUALITY OF COINS.—The bullion coins 

15 shall be issued in both proof and standard versions 

16 and may be sold in sets with the $1 coins issued 

17 under subsection (n) or in such other sets as the 

18 Secretary of the Treasury sees appropriate, as well 

19 as separately.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of the Congress that—

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

23 with the image of a living person has served the 

24 country well and deserves to be continued as a gen25 eral practice; 
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1 (2) the full circulation potential and cost-sav2 ings benefit projections for the presidential $1 coin 

3 program are not likely to be achieved unless barriers 

4 to the circulation of such coins are removed; and 

5 (3) in connection with the introduction of the 

6 $1 coins under the presidential $1 coin program—

7 (A) the coins should not be introduced 

8 with an expensive taxpayer-funded public rela9 tions campaign, including the use of the tax10 payer-funded United States Mint Public Enter11 prise Fund; and 

12 (B) the Director of the United States 

13 Mint, a bureau in the Department of the Treas14 ury, should—

15 (i) work with consumer groups, media 

16 outlets, and schools to ensure an adequate 

17 amount of news coverage about the start of 

18 the coin program so consumers will know 

19 of the availability of the coins; and 

20 (ii) work closely with merchants who 

21 will use the coins, vending machine and 

22 other coin acceptor manufacturers, vending 

23 machine operators, transit officials, and 

24 municipal parking officials, as well as with 

25 the Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
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1 serve System and the various banking and 

2 business associations, to ensure that—

3 (I) adequate numbers of vending 

4 machines and coin accepting equip5 ment will accept the coin, and are la6 beled as such; 

7 (II) cash register drawers are 

8 ready to accept the coins; and 

9 (III) the contractors who handle 

10 recirculation of coins for the Board of 

11 Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys12 tem have machinery available to de13 liver and recycle the coins in pack14 aging that is useful to businesses, in15 cluding rolled coins.

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