II 

Calendar No. 500 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 811 

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

of the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 15, 2005 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. BAYH, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. BUNNING, 

Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. 

CONRAD, Mr. REED, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. 

DEWINE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BAUCUS, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. CARPER, Mrs. 

CLINTON, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DODD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. 

INOUYE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KOHL, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. REID, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, 

Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. JEFFORDS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

BYRD, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. HATCH, Mr. 

ALLEN, Mrs. DOLE, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. THUNE, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. WARNER, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. 

CRAIG, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. VITTER, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. 

GRAHAM, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BOND, Mr. LOTT, and Mr. ALEXANDER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

JUNE 28, 2006 

Reported by Mr. SHELBY, without amendment 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 


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in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of 

Abraham Lincoln. 

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 ‘‘Abraham Lincoln Com5 memorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was 

9 one of the Nation’s greatest leaders, demonstrating 

10 true courage during the Civil War, one of the great11 est crises in the Nation’s history. 

12 (2) Born of humble roots in present-day LaRue 

13 County, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, Abraham 

14 Lincoln rose to the Presidency through a combina15 tion of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commit16 ment to the United States. 

17 (3) With the belief that all men were created 

18 equal, Abraham Lincoln led the effort to free all 

19 slaves in the United States. 

20 (4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, 

21 with malice toward none and with charity for all. 

22 (5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice 

23 for his country, dying from an assassin’s bullet on 

24 April 15, 1865. 


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1 (6) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anni2 versary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. 

3 (7) The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Com4 mission has been charged by Congress with planning 

5 the celebration of President Lincoln’s bicentennial. 

6 (8) The proceeds from a commemorative coin 

7 will help fund the celebration and the continued 

8 study of the life of President Lincoln. 

9 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

10 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas11 ury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint 

12 and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which shall— 

13 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

14 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

15 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

16 copper. 

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

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

19 title 31, United States Code. 

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

21 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

22 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis23 matic items. 

24 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

25 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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

2 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

3 and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. 

4 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

5 each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 

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

7 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2009’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer10 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

12 under this Act shall be— 

13 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

14 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Abraham 

15 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and 

16 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

17 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

18 31, United States Code. 

19 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

21 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

22 (b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United 

23 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

24 of the coins minted under this Act. 


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1 (c) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

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

3 period beginning on January 1, 2009. 

4 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

5 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins minted under this Act 

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

7 of— 

8 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

10 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

13 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

16 discount. 

17 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

19 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

20 before the issuance of such coins. 

21 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre22 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea23 sonable discount. 


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1 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under 

3 this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

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

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

6 the Secretary from the sale of coins minted under this Act 

7 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Abraham 

8 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to further the work of 

9 the Commission. 

10 (c) AUDITS.—The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial 

11 Commission shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

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


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Calendar No. 500 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 811 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

the birth of Abraham Lincoln. coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of 

JUNE 28, 2006 

Reported without amendment 


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