II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST 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 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 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 
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1 true courage during the Civil War, one of the great2 est crises in the Nation’s history. 

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

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

5 Lincoln rose to the Presidency through a combina6 tion of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and commit7 ment to the United States. 

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

9 equal, Abraham Lincoln led the effort to free all 

10 slaves in the United States. 

11 (4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, 

12 with malice toward none and with charity for all. 

13 (5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice 

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

15 April 15, 1865. 

16 (6) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anni17 versary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. 

18 (7) The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Com19 mission has been charged by Congress with planning 

20 the celebration of President Lincoln’s bicentennial. 

21 (8) The proceeds from a commemorative coin 

22 will help fund the celebration and the continued 

23 study of the life of President Lincoln. 
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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint 

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

5 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

7 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

8 copper. 

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

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

11 title 31, United States Code. 

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

13 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

14 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis15 matic items. 

16 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

17 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

19 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 

20 and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. 

21 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

24 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2009’’; and 
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1 (C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 

2 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer3 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

5 under this Act shall be— 

6 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

7 with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Abraham 

8 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; and 

9 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

10 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

11 31, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

14 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

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

16 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

17 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

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

20 period beginning on January 1, 2009. 

21 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

24 of— 

25 (1) the face value of the coins; 
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1 (2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 

2 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

5 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

8 discount. 

9 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

11 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

12 before the issuance of such coins. 

13 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre14 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea15 sonable discount. 

16 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

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

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

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

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

22 shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Abraham 

23 Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to further the work of 

24 the Commission. 
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1 (c) AUDITS.—The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial 

2 Commission shall be subject to the audit requirements of 

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

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