II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 863 

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 

APRIL 20, 2005 

Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. 

BINGAMAN, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. 

DODD, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. 

JEFFORDS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEVIN, 

Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. 

PRYOR, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. STEVENS, and Mr. WARNER) 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’’. 
2 

•S 863 IS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s great4 est Presidents, was born on October 27, 1858, in 

5 New York City, New York; 

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

7 was elected to the first of 3 terms as a representa8 tive in the New York State Assembly (1882–1884); 

9 (3) President William Harrison appointed 

10 Theodore Roosevelt as the United States Civil Serv11 ice Commissioner in 1889, a post he held until 1895, 

12 serving 2 successive Presidents; 

13 (4) from 1895 to 1897, Theodore Roosevelt 

14 served as Commissioner of the New York City Police 

15 Department; 

16 (5) while serving as Assistant Secretary of the 

17 Navy under President William McKinley in 1897 

18 and 1898, Theodore Roosevelt organized the First 

19 United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, popu20 larly known as the ‘‘Rough Riders’’, and served as 

21 Colonel of this regiment during the Spanish-Amer22 ican War; 

23 (6) from 1898 to 1900, Theodore Roosevelt 

24 served as Governor of New York; 
3 

•S 863 IS

1 (7) in 1900, upon the reelection of President 

2 McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt was elected as the 

3 25th Vice-President of the United States; 

4 (8) as the 26th President of the United States 

5 beginning in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt took a very 

6 active role in foreign affairs, establishing the United 

7 States as a new world power, and instituting broad 

8 reforms at home, particularly with respect to labor, 

9 monopolies, and conservation, until the end of his 

10 presidency in 1909; 

11 (9) Theodore Roosevelt’s commitment to con12 servation stemmed from his experiences as a rancher 

13 in the badlands of North Dakota from 1883 to 1886 

14 and earned him the title of the ‘‘Conservationist 

15 President’’ for his efforts in establishing 51 Bird 

16 Reserves, 4 Game Preserves, 150 National Forests, 

17 5 National Parks, and 18 National Monuments, to18 taling nearly 230,000,000 acres of land placed under 

19 public protection during his presidency; 

20 (10) on January 16, 2001, Theodore Roosevelt 

21 was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal 

22 of Honor for leading a charge up the San Juan 

23 Heights in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, 

24 shortly before the war ended, thereby becoming the 
4 

•S 863 IS

1 first President of the United States to be awarded 

2 the Congressional Medal of Honor; and 

3 (11) 2006 marks the 100th anniversary of 

4 Theodore Roosevelt being awarded the Nobel Peace 

5 Prize, the first citizen of the United States to receive 

6 such prize, for negotiating the 1905 peace treaty 

7 ending the Russo-Japanese War. 

8 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

9 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint 

11 and issue the following coins: 

12 (1) $1 SILVER COINS WITH ROUGH RIDER DE13 SIGN.—Not more than 500,000 $1 coins bearing the 

14 designs specified in section 4(a)(2), each of which 

15 shall— 

16 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

18 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per19 cent copper. 

20 (2) $1 SILVER COINS WITH ADVENTURER DE21 SIGN.—Not more than 500,000 $1 coins bearing the 

22 designs specified in section 4(a)(3), each of which 

23 shall— 

24 (A) weigh 26.73 grams; 

25 (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
5 

•S 863 IS

1 (C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per2 cent copper. 

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

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

5 title 31, United States Code. 

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

7 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

8 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis9 matic items. 

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

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

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

13 States Mint at West Point, New York, to the greatest ex14 tent possible. 

15 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

16 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

18 minted under this Act shall— 

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

20 President Theodore Roosevelt; and 

21 (B) use the designs of James Earle Fraser 

22 or Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 2 sculptors most 

23 closely associated with the revitalization of the 

24 United States coinage, commonly referred to as 

25 the ‘‘Golden Age of American Coin Design’’, 
6 

•S 863 IS

1 that was initiated by President Theodore Roo2 sevelt. 

3 (2) $1 COINS WITH ROUGH RIDER DESIGN.— 

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

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

6 image of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider 

7 that was used on the James Earle Fraser 

8 medal of 1920. 

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

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

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

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

13 1933 and designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 

14 (3) $1 COINS WITH ADVENTURER DESIGN.— 

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

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

17 image of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, 

18 based on James Earle Fraser’s monumental 16- 

19 foot high bronze equestrian figure of Roosevelt 

20 that— 

21 (i) stands at the east front of the 

22 American Museum of Natural History in 

23 New York City; and 

24 (ii) recognizes Roosevelt’s lifelong ac25 tivity as a naturalist and conservationist 
7 

•S 863 IS

1 and emphasizes him as an adventurer, out2 doorsman, and hunter. 

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

4 minted under section 3(a)(2) shall bear the de5 sign based on the reverse designs by James 

6 Earle Fraser used on the Roosevelt Memorial 

7 Association Medal of Honor and the Associa8 tion’s Founders Medal that— 

9 (i) depict the crusader’s flaming 

10 sword of righteousness and evoke the ‘‘Big 

11 Stick’’ philosophy espoused by President 

12 Roosevelt; and 

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

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

15 Must Choose Between Righteousness and 

16 Peace, I Choose Righteousness’’ from Roo17 sevelt’s historical work, ‘‘Unwise Peace 

18 Treaties’’. 

19 (4) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—Each 

20 coin minted under this Act shall bear— 

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

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

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

24 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer25 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 
8

•S 863 IS

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

2 under this Act shall be— 

3 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

4 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

5 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

6 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

7 31, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

10 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

11 (b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

12 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

13 1, 2006, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of 

14 such coins, without issuance, before such date. 

15 (c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

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

17 2006. 

18 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

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

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

21 of— 

22 (1) the face value of the coins; 

23 (2) the surcharge provided under section 7(a); 

24 and 
9 

•S 863 IS

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

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

3 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

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

6 discount. 

7 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

9 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

10 before the issuance of such coins. 

11 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre12 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea13 sonable discount. 

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

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

16 separately or as a set containing a coin of each such de17 sign. 

18 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

19 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales of coins mint20 ed under this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per 

21 coin. 

22 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.—Subject to sec23 tion 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code, and in ac24 cordance with subsection (c) of this section, all surcharges 

25 received by the Secretary from the sale of coins minted 
10 

•S 863 IS

1 under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary 

2 to— 

3 (1) the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be 

4 used exclusively— 

5 (A) for educational programs at Sagamore 

6 Hill National Historic Site, including construc7 tion and maintenance of a visitor’s center; and 

8 (B) to the extent that funds remain avail9 able, in the discretion of the Theodore Roo10 sevelt Association, for the support of other cu11 ratorial activities that preserve and enhance col12 lections maintained by institutions of higher 

13 learning dedicated to the study and memory of 

14 Theodore Roosevelt; and 

15 (2) the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, 

16 to be used exclusively— 

17 (A) for educational programs at and 

18 around the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 

19 including construction of the Theodore Roo20 sevelt Badlands Institute in the badlands of 

21 North Dakota; and 

22 (B) to the extent that funds remain avail23 able, in the discretion of the Theodore Roo24 sevelt Medora Foundation, for the support of 

25 other curatorial activities that preserve and en-
11 

•S 863 IS

1 hance collections maintained by institutions of 

2 higher learning dedicated to the study and 

3 memory of Theodore Roosevelt. 

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

5 surcharges received under this section— 

6 (1) 70 percent of any such surcharges received 

7 shall be paid to the Theodore Roosevelt Association; 

8 and 

9 (2) 30 percent of any such surcharges received 

10 shall be paid to the Theodore Roosevelt Medora 

11 Foundation. 

12 (d) AUDITS.—The Theodore Roosevelt Association 

13 and the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation shall be 

14 subject to the audit requirements under section 5134(f)(2) 

15 of title 31, United States Code. 

Æ