I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2097 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 23, 2009 
Mr. RUPPERSBERGER (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. SAR-
BANES, Mr. KRATOVIL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, 
Mr. BARTLETT, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. 
BOCCIERI, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. CHAN-
DLER, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. WU, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, 
Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. OBEY, Mr. SNYDER, 
Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. COBLE, and Mr. PITTS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of 
the Star-Spangled Banner, 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 ‘‘Star-Spangled Banner 
Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) During the Battle for Baltimore of the War 
of 1812, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet 
in the Chesapeake Bay on September 7, 1814, to se-
cure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had 
been captured after the British burned Washington, 
DC. 
(2) The release of Dr. Beanes was secured, but 
Key and Beanes were held by the British during the 
shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending 
Baltimore. 
(3) On the morning of September 14, 1814, 
after the 25-hour British bombardment of Fort 
McHenry, Key peered through the clearing smoke to 
see a 42-foot by 30-foot American flag flying proud-
ly atop the Fort. 
(4) He was so inspired to see the enormous flag 
still flying over the Fort that he began penning a 
song, which he named The Defence of Fort McHenry, 
to commemorate the occasion and he included a note 
that it should be sung to the tune of the popular 
British melody To Anacreon in Heaven. 
(5) In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson or-
dered that the anthem, which had been popularly re-
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named the Star-Spangled Banner, be played at mili-
tary and naval occasions. 
(6) On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoo-
ver signed a resolution of Congress that officially 
designated the Star-Spangled Banner as the Na-
tional Anthem of the United States. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall mint and issue the following coins in commemoration 
of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled 
Banner: 
(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. 
(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000 
$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. 
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(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 sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 
minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis-
matic 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 
War of 1812 and particularly the Battle for Balti-
more that formed the basis for the Star-Spangled 
Banner. 
(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 ‘‘2012’’; and 
(C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, 
‘‘In God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of Amer-
ica’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 
(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 
under this Act shall be— 
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(1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 
with the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Com-
mission and the Commission of Fine Arts; 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 one 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 under this Act only during the calendar year 
beginning on January 1, 2012. 
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 with re-
spect to such coins; and 
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 
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(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) of 
title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 
shall be paid to the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial 
Commission for the purpose of supporting bicentennial ac-
tivities, educational outreach activities (including sup-
porting scholarly research and the development of exhib-
its), and preservation and improvement activities per-
taining to the sites and structures relating to the War of 
1812. 
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(c) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall have the right to examine such books, records, 
documents, and other data of the Maryland War of 1812 
Bicentennial Commission as may be related to the expend-
itures of amounts paid under subsection (b). 
(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 
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. 
Æ 
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