I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3916
To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion coin, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2004
Mr. CASTLE (for himself and Mrs. MALONEY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion 
coin, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential $1 Coin 
Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) There are sectors of the United States econ-
omy, including public transportation, parking me-
ters, vending machines and low-dollar value trans-
actions, in which the use of a $1 coin is both useful 
and desirable for keeping costs and prices down. 
(2) For a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin 
introduced in 2000 has not been widely sought-after 
by the public, leading to higher costs for merchants 
and thus higher prices for consumers. 
(3) The success of the 50-State circulating com-
memorative quarter program shows that a rotating 
design on a United States circulating coin radically 
increases demand for the coin, rapidly pulling it 
through the economy. 
(4) The 50-State circulating commemorative 
quarter program also has been an educational tool, 
teaching both Americans and visitors something 
about each State for which a quarter has been 
issued. 
(5) A national survey and study by the General 
Accounting Office has indicated that many Ameri-
cans who do not seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin 
for use in commerce would actively seek the coin if 
an attractive, educational rotating design were to be 
struck on the coin. 
(6) The President is the leader of our tripartite 
government and the President’s spouse has often set 
the social tone for the White House while spear-
heading and highlighting important issues for the 
country. 
(7) Many people cannot name all of the Presi-
dents, and fewer can name the spouses, nor can 
many people accurately place the President in the 
proper time period of American history. 
(8) First Spouses have not generally been rec-
ognized on American coinage. 
(9) Sacagewea, as currently represented on the 
new $1 coin, is an important symbol of American 
history. 
(10) In order to revitalize the design of United 
States coinage and return circulating coinage to its 
position as not only a necessary means of exchange 
in commerce but as representation of aesthetic beau-
ty, it is appropriate to move many of the mottos and 
emblems, the inscription of the year, and the so-
called ‘‘mint marks’’ that currently appear on the 2 
faces of each circulating coin to the edge of the coin, 
which would allow larger and more dramatic artwork 
on the coins reminiscent of the so-called ‘‘Golden 
Age of Coinage’’ in the United States, at the begin-
ning of the Twentieth Century, initiated by Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt, with the assistance of
noted sculptors and medallic artists James Earle 
Fraser and Augustus St. Gaudens. 
(11) Placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, 
known as edge-incusing, is a hallmark of modern 
coinage and is common in large-volume production 
of coinage elsewhere in the world, such as the 
2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation and coins 
of the People’s Republic of China, but it has not 
been done on a large scale in United States coinage 
in recent years. 
(12) Bullion coins are a valuable tool for the in-
vestor and, in some cases, an important aspect of 
the coin-collector field. 
(13) Although the Congress has authorized the 
Secretary of the Treasury to issue gold coins with a 
purity of .9999 percent, the Secretary has not done 
so. 
(14) By commencing the issuance of the presi-
dential $1 coins in 2006, coins issued in uncir-
culated or proof qualities that commemorate the 
presidency of Thomas Jefferson may be sold in sets 
with the coins of similar qualities that are issued in 
2006 and commemorate the Lewis and Clark expedi-
tion, together with $1 coins that bear the image of 
Sacagewea and are struck for numismatic purposes
Presidents of the United States shall be issued 
in the order of the term of service of each 
President, beginning with President George 
Washington. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF TERM OF SERVICE.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), only 1 coin design shall be issued per 
order of service for any President, no mat-
ter how many consecutive terms of office 
the President served. 
‘‘(ii) NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS.—If a 
President has served during 2 or more 
nonconsecutive terms of service, a coin 
shall be issued under this subsection for 
each such nonconsecutive term of service. 
‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 4 
PRESIDENTS DURING EACH YEAR OF THE PERIOD.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the 
$1 coins issued during each year of the period 
referred to in paragraph (1) shall be emblem-
atic of 4 Presidents selected in the order in 
which they served as President until each Presi-
dent has been so honored. 
‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 4 COIN DE-
SIGNS IN EACH YEAR.—Of the $1 coins issued
during each year of the period referred to in 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 
number of $1 coins which shall be issued with 
each of the 4 designs selected for such year. 
‘‘(5) SELECTION OF DESIGN.—Each of the de-
signs required under this subsection for $1 coins 
shall be—
‘‘(A) selected by the Secretary after con-
sultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; 
and 
‘‘(B) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Ad-
visory Committee. 
‘‘(6) TREATMENT AS NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For 
purposes of sections 5134 and 5136, all coins mint-
ed under this subsection shall be considered to be 
numismatic items. 
‘‘(7) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may mint and 
issue such number of $1 coins of each design se-
lected under paragraph (5) in uncirculated and proof 
qualities as the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate. 
‘‘(8) REVERSION
TO
PRECEDING
DESIGN.—
Upon the completion of the series of designs re-
quired by this subsection, the design of the $1 coin 
shall revert to the design in use prior to the issuance 
of coins in accordance with this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 4. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM. 
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subsection (n) (as added by 
section 3 of this Act) the following new subsection: 
‘‘(o) FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the same period in 
which the $1 coins are issued under subsection (n) 
which are emblematic of the Presidents of the 
United States, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue bullion coins under this subsection that are 
emblematic of the spouse of each such President. 
‘‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS.—The coins issued under 
this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) have the same diameter as the $1 
coins described in subsection (n); 
‘‘(B) be of an appropriate weight and 
thickness; and 
‘‘(C) contain .9999 percent pure gold. 
‘‘(3) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) COIN OBVERSE.—The obverse of each 
coin issued under this subsection shall contain 
the name and likeness of a First Spouse, an in-
scription of the years of service and a number 
indicating the order in which his or her spouse 
served as President. 
‘‘(B) COIN REVERSE.—The reverse of each 
coin issued under this subsection shall bear—
‘‘(i) images emblematic of the life and 
work of the First Spouse whose image is 
borne on the obverse; and 
‘‘(ii) an inscription of the ‘United 
States of America’. 
‘‘(C) DESIGNATED DENOMINATION.—Each 
coin issued under this subsection shall bear, on 
the reverse, an inscription of the designated de-
nomination of the coin, using Arabic numerals, 
which shall be $10. 
‘‘(D) DESIGN
IN
CASE
OF
NO
FIRST 
SPOUSE.—In the case of any President who 
served without a spouse—
‘‘(i) the image on the obverse of the 
bullion coin corresponding to the $1 coin 
relating to such President shall be an 
image of the concept of ‘Liberty’—
‘‘(I) as represented on a United 
States coin issued during the term of 
such President; or
‘‘(II) in the case of President 
Chester Alan Arthur, incorporating 
the name and likeness of Alice Paul, 
a leading strategist in the suffrage 
movement, who was instrumental in 
gaining women the right to vote upon 
the adoption of the 19th amendment 
and thus participate in the election of 
future Presidents, and who was born 
on January 11, 1885, during the term 
of President Arthur; and 
‘‘(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin 
shall be of a design representative of 
themes of such President, except that in 
the case of the bullion coin referred to in 
clause (i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall 
be representative of the sufferage move-
ment. 
‘‘(E) DESIGN
AND
COIN
FOR
EACH 
SPOUSE.—A coin shall be designed and issued 
under this section for each person who was the 
spouse of a President during any portion of a 
term of office of such President. 
‘‘(F) EDGE-INCUSED
INSCRIPTIONS.—So 
that the images on the obverse and reverse of