116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1235 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of ratification of the 19th Amendment 

to the Constitution of the United States, giving women 

in the United States the right to vote. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 1235 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Suffrage 

3 Centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott 

7 organized the first Women’s Rights Convention in 

8 Seneca Falls, New York. Sixty-eight women and 32 

9 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments at the 

10 Convention in July 1848. 

11 (2) The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled 

12 after the Declaration of Independence and declared 

13 that ‘‘all men and women are created equal’’, linking 

14 women’s rights directly to the founding ideals of the 

15 United States. 

16 (3) Suffrage activists, including Elizabeth Cady 

17 Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, So18 journer Truth, Ida B. Wells, Jovita Idar, Inez 

19 Millholland, Mary Church Terrell, Anne Dallas Dud20 ley, Carrie Chapman Cat, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, 

21 Esther Hobart Morris, and many others, conducted 

22 over 900 local, State, and Federal campaigns over a 

23 72-year time span to win women the right to vote. 

24 (4) On November 6, 1917, New York granted 

25 women the right to vote, which was an act that cre26 ated momentum for the national movement that cul-
3 

†S 1235 ES

1 minated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment 

2 to the Constitution of the United States 3 years 

3 later. 

4 (5) The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of 

5 the United States (‘‘The Susan B. Anthony Amend6 ment’’) guarantees all United States women the 

7 right to vote and was passed by the 66th Congress 

8 of the United States on June 4, 1919. 

9 (6) On August 9, 1920, right before the ratifi10 cation period was set to expire, Governor Albert H. 

11 Roberts called a special session of the Tennessee 

12 General Assembly to consider the amendment. Pro13 suffrage and anti-suffrage activists from around the 

14 country descended on Nashville, Tennessee, intent 

15 on influencing the legislature. 

16 (7) After the amendment was defeated in a 48– 

17 48 tie vote, Tennessee State Representative Harry 

18 T. Burn from McMinn County cast the deciding fa19 vorable vote after receiving a note from his mother, 

20 Phoebe Ensminger Burn, imploring him to vote yes 

21 for ratification. 

22 (8) On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 

23 36th and final State needed to pass the 19th 

24 Amendment, ensuring its ratification pursuant to 

25 Article V of the Constitution of the United States. 
4 

†S 1235 ES

1 (9) The 19th Amendment was ratified on Au2 gust 26, 1920, when Secretary of State Bainbridge 

3 Colby issued a proclamation announcing it has be4 come part of the Constitution of the United States. 

5 (10) The ratification of the 19th Amendment 

6 marked the single largest extension of voting rights 

7 in United States history, enfranchising 27,000,000 

8 American women in the United States. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is— 

10 (1) to honor and commemorate the work of 

11 women suffrage activists in the late 19th and early 

12 20th centuries; 

13 (2) to increase public awareness and apprecia14 tion for the history of the women’s suffrage move15 ment; and 

16 (3) to encourage all women in the United 

17 States to exercise their hard-won franchise and to 

18 become involved in civic life if they so choose. 

19 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

20 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas21 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

22 shall mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins, 

23 which shall— 

24 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

†S 1235 ES

1 (3) contain at least 90 percent silver. 

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

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

4 title 31, United States Code. 

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

6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

7 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis8 matic items. 

9 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COIN. 

10 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

12 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

13 women who played a vital role in rallying support for 

14 the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the 

15 United States. 

16 (2) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

19 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2020’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer22 ica’’, ‘‘E Pluribus Unum.’’ 

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

24 under this Act shall— 
6 

†S 1235 ES

1 (1) contain motifs that honor Susan B. An2 thony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Carrie Chapman 

3 Catt, Harriet Tubman, Mary Church Terrell, Alice 

4 Paul, Lide Meriwether, Ida B. Wells, and other suf5 frage activists of the late 19th century and early 

6 20th centuries; 

7 (2) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta8 tion with the Smithsonian Institution’s American 

9 Women’s History Initiative, and the Commission of 

10 Fine Arts; and 

11 (3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advi12 sory Committee. 

13 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

15 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

16 (b) MINT FACILITIES.—Only 1 facility of the United 

17 States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 

18 of the coins minted under this Act. 

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

20 issue coins under this Act only during the period begin21 ning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 

22 2020. 
7 

†S 1235 ES

1 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

2 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 

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

4 of— 

5 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

7 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

10 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

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

12 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 

13 discount. 

14 (c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

16 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

17 before the issuance of such coins. 

18 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre19 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea20 sonable discount. 

21 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 

23 Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 

24 (1) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin 

25 described under section 3(a)(1). 
8 

†S 1235 ES

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

2 title 31, United States Code, and section 8(2), all sur3 charges received by the Secretary from the sale of coins 

4 issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Sec5 retary to the Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s 

6 History Initiative for the purpose of— 

7 (1) collecting, studying, and establishing pro8 grams relating to women’s contributions to various 

9 fields and throughout different periods of history 

10 that have influenced the direction of the United 

11 States; and 

12 (2) creating exhibitions and programs that rec13 ognize diverse perspectives on women’s history and 

14 contributions. 

15 (c) AUDITS.—The Smithsonian Institution’s Amer16 ican Women’s History Initiative shall be subject to the 

17 audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, 

18 United States Code, with regard to the amounts received 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 

21 The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec22 essary to ensure that— 

23 (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 

24 will not result in any net cost to the United States 

25 Government; and 
9 

†S 1235 ES

1 (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 

2 shall be disbursed to any recipient designated in sec3 tion 7(b) until the total cost of designing and issuing 

4 all of the coins authorized by this Act (including 

5 labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead ex6 penses, marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the 

7 United States Treasury, consistent with sections 

8 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 

9 Code. 

Passed the Senate June 4, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1235 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

States the right to vote. United States, giving women in the United 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the coins in commemoration of ratification of the