IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2453 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 19, 2012 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs 
AN ACT 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of Mark Twain. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mark Twain Com-
memorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Samuel Clemens—better known to the 
world as Mark Twain—was a unique American voice 
whose literary work has had a lasting effect on our 
Nation’s history and culture. 
(2) Mark Twain remains one of the best known 
Americans in the world with over 6,500 editions of 
his books translated into 75 languages. 
(3) Mark Twain’s literary and educational leg-
acy remains strong even today, with nearly every 
book he wrote still in print, including The Adven-
tures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry 
Finn—both of which have never gone out of print 
since they were first published over a century ago. 
(4) In the past 2 decades alone, there have been 
more than 100 books published and over 250 doc-
toral dissertations written on Mark Twain’s life and 
work. 
(5) Even today, Americans seek to know more 
about the life and work of Mark Twain, as people 
from around the world and across all 50 States an-
nually flock to National Historic Landmarks like the 
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Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT, and 
the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Han-
nibal, MO. 
(6) Mark Twain’s work is remembered today 
for addressing the complex social issues facing 
America at the turn of the century, including the 
legacy of the Civil War, race relations, and the eco-
nomic inequalities of the ‘‘Gilded Age’’. 
(7) Today Mark Twain’s work lives on through 
educational institutions throughout the United 
States, such as the Mark Twain Project at the Ban-
croft Library of the University of California, Berke-
ley, California, and the Center for Mark Twain 
Studies at Elmira College, in Elmira, New York. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall mint and issue the following coins: 
(1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 
$5 coins, which shall— 
(A) weigh 8.359 grams; 
(B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and 
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 
alloy. 
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(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 350,000 
$1 coins, which shall— 
(A) weigh 26.73 grams; 
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
(C) contain 90 percent silver and 10 per-
cent copper. 
(b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 
Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 
title 31, United States Code. 
(c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 
(a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The design of the coins 
minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life 
and legacy of Mark Twain. 
(2) DESIGNATION
AND
INSCRIPTIONS.—On 
each coin minted under this Act there shall be— 
(A) a designation of the value of the coin; 
(B) an inscription of the year ‘‘2016’’; and 
(C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 
‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-
ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 
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(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 
under this Act shall be— 
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 
with the Commission of Fine Arts and the Board of 
the Mark Twain House and Museum; and 
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee. 
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 
(a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 
Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United 
States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 
of the coins minted under this Act. 
(c) PERIOD
FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 
issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 
period beginning on January 1, 2016. 
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 
(a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 
shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum 
of— 
(1) the face value of the coins; 
(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 
respect to such coins; and 
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(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 
(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 
sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 
discount. 
(c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 
prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 
before the issuance of such coins. 
(2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-
paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
sonable discount. 
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins issued under this 
Act shall include a surcharge of— 
(1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and 
(2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f)(1) of 
title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 
shall be promptly paid by the Secretary as follows: 
(1) One-quarter of the surcharges, to the Mark 
Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, 
to support the continued restoration of the Mark 
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Twain house and grounds, and ensure continuing 
growth and innovation in museum programming to 
research, promote and educate on the legacy of 
Mark Twain. 
(2) One-quarter of the surcharges, to the Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley, California, to be used 
for research and education purposes. 
(3) One-quarter of the surcharges, to Elmira 
College, New York, to be used for research and edu-
cation purposes. 
(4) One-quarter of the surcharges, to the Mark 
Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, 
Missouri, to preserve historical sites related to Mark 
Twain and help support programs to study and pro-
mote his legacy. 
(c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall have the right to examine such books, records, 
documents, and other data of each of the organizations 
referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of sub-
section (b) as may be related to the expenditures of 
amounts paid under such subsection. 
(d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 
no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 
under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 
of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 
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would result in the number of commemorative coin pro-
grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 
commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 
section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec-
retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection. 
Passed the House of Representatives April 18, 2012. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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