I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3180 

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

of the legacy of the U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 13, 2011 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. MARINO, Mr. DENT, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. PLATTS, 

Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. FATTAH, and Mr. CRITZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the legacy of the U.S.S. Cruiser 

Olympia. 

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 ‘‘U.S.S. Cruiser Olym5 pia Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia is the world’s 

2 oldest steel war ship afloat. She is the sole surviving 

3 United States naval ship of the Spanish-American 

4 war and revived American Steel Navy. Launched in 

5 1892 and serving with distinction in two wars, the 

6 U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia is emblematic of the mo7 ment the United States became a global power. 

8 (2) The U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia is a National 

9 Historic Landmark listed on the National Register 

10 of Historic Places (1964), a National Historic Engi11 neering Landmark (1977), a National Historic Mari12 time Landmark (1988), and was awarded ‘‘Official 

13 Project’’ status of Save America’s Treasures pro14 gram (1999). 

15 (3) The U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia was the flag16 ship of the Asiatic Squadron and is the only vessel 

17 from the Spanish-American War still in existence. 

18 Commissioned on February 5, 1895, she visited 

19 ports in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Phil20 ippines. 

21 (4) When war was declared on April 25, 1898, 

22 between the United States and Spain, Commodore 

23 George Dewey made the U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia his 

24 flagship under the command of Captain Gridley and 

25 entered Manila Bay on the morning of May 1, 1898, 


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1 to confront the Spanish ships and coastal artillery. 

2 At approximately 5:40 in the morning, Commodore 

3 Dewey instructed the captain, ‘‘You may fire when 

4 ready, Gridley’’. By 7:30 a.m., the Spanish squadron 

5 and shore batteries were destroyed and Dewey ac6 cepted the surrender of the Spanish at Manila. 

7 (5) The U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia became famous 

8 as the first victors of the War, and returned to the 

9 United States for celebrations in Boston and New 

10 York. During the early twentieth century, it served 

11 in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and, during World 

12 War I, became the flagship of the American fleet. 

13 (6) In 1921, the U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia was 

14 honored to carry the first American unknown solider 

15 from the port of Le Havre, France, to Washington, 

16 DC. On November 10, 1921, the unknown soldier 

17 lay in state in the United States Capitol, and then 

18 was transported by caisson to Arlington National 

19 Cemetery for interment. Accompanying the casket 

20 were President Warren Harding, officials of the 

21 United States government, and World War I vet22 erans. 

23 (7) The U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia was decommis24 sioned in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the winter 

25 of 1922 and has rested beside the city since that 


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1 time. It is permanently docked at Penn’s Landing, 

2 Philadelphia, open for public viewing, and is one of 

3 only four warships representative of the Spanish4 American war period that exists in the world. 

5 (8) The Friends of the Cruiser Olympia is a 

6 non-profit, tax exempt organization dedicated to re7 storing and preserving the national treasure of the 

8 U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia and to provide education for 

9 Americans and foreign visitors regarding the impact 

10 it had on American and world history. 

11 (9) The Friends of the Cruiser Olympia is a 

12 non-governmental member-based organization that is 

13 entirely dependant on funds from members, dona14 tions, and sponsorships for its mission, which is to 

15 restore and preserve the U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia. 

16 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATION. 

17 (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas18 ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

19 shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins in 

20 commemoration of the legacy of the U.S.S. Cruiser Olym21 pia, each of which shall— 

22 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

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

24 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

25 copper. 


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

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

3 title 31, United States Code. 

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

5 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 

6 minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis7 matic items. 

8 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

9 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

11 minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

12 courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history 

13 of the U.S.S. Cruiser Olympia. 

14 (2) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On 

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

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

17 (B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2016’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer20 ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

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

22 under this Act shall be— 

23 (1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 

24 with the Friends of the Cruiser Olympia and the 

25 Commission of Fine Arts; and 


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1 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

2 Committee. 

3 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

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

5 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

6 (b) PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 

7 issue coins under this Act only during the calendar year 

8 beginning on January 1, 2016. 

9 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

10 (a) SALE PRICE.—The coins under this Act shall be 

11 sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of— 

12 (1) the face value of the coins; 

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

14 respect to such coins; and 

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

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

17 overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 

18 (b) PREPAID ORDERS.— 

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

20 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

21 before the issuance of such coins. 

22 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre23 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea24 sonable discount. 


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1 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

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

3 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 issued under this Act 

7 shall be paid to the Friends of the Cruiser Olympia for 

8 the purpose of restoring and preserving the U.S.S. Cruiser 

9 Olympia. 

10 (c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 

11 States shall have the rights to examine such books, 

12 records, documents, and other data of the Friends of the 

13 Cruiser Olympia as may be related to the expenditures of 

14 amounts paid under subsection (b). 

15 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

16 no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 

17 under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 

18 of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 

19 would result in the number of commemorative coin pro20 gram issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 

21 31, United States Code. The Secretary of the Treasury 

22 may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 

Æ 


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