I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4329 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of President James Monroe, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 16, 2009 
Mr. WITTMAN 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 President James Monroe, 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 ‘‘James Monroe Com-
memorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress hereby finds as follows: 
(1) James Monroe was the only United States 
President besides George Washington to have ac-
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tively served in the regular military during the Revo-
lutionary War. 
(2) James Monroe— 
(A) participated in the Battles of Harlem 
Heights and White Plains; 
(B) crossed the Delaware River in advance 
of George Washington; 
(C) was seriously wounded at the Battle of 
Trenton and cited for conspicuous gallantry; 
(D) wintered with the Continental Army at 
Valley Forge; and 
(E) subsequently participated in the Bat-
tles of Brandywine, Germantown and Mon-
mouth. 
(3) James Monroe served at the State level in 
the Virginia House of Delegates and served 4 times 
as the Governor of Virginia. 
(4) James Monroe served at the national level 
as a member of the Continental Congress, United 
States Senator, Minister to France (negotiating the 
Louisiana Purchase), Minister to Spain, Minister to 
England, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State 
(he was the only person to ever hold those 2 posts 
simultaneously, defending the Nation during the 
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War of 1812), and finally as President of the United 
States from 1817–1825. 
(5) James Monroe’s accomplishments as Presi-
dent included the purchase of Florida, limiting the 
expansion of slavery, the admission of Maine and 
Missouri as States, and the promulgation of prin-
ciples that became known as the ‘‘Monroe Doctrine’’ 
on December 2, 1823, expanding the concept of 
hemispheric 
independence 
beyond 
the 
United 
States—truly making him one of the most important 
figures in our Nation’s history. 
(6) The bicentennial of the election of James 
Monroe as President will occur in 2016, an election 
which ushered in what has been known since as the 
‘‘Era of Good Feelings’’. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of the bi-
centennial of the election of James Monroe to the first 
of 2 terms as President of the United States of America, 
the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the fol-
lowing coins: 
(1) $50 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 20,000 
$50 gold coins which shall— 
(A) weigh 33.931 grams; 
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(B) have a diameter of 32.7 millimeters; 
and 
(C) contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold. 
(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 275,000 
$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. 
(3) HALF
DOLLAR
CLAD
COINS.—Not more 
than 500,000 half dollar coins, which shall— 
(A) weigh 11.34 grams; 
(B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and 
(C) be minted to the specifications for half 
dollar coins, contained in section 5112(b) of 
title 31, United States Code. 
(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.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The design of the coins 
minted under this Act shall be emblematic of Presi-
dent James Monroe and his immeasurable contribu-
tions to the United States. 
(2) OBVERSE.—The obverse of the coins minted 
under this Act shall bear the side profile image of 
President James Monroe based upon Rembrandt 
Peale’s 1830 portrait which the James Monroe Me-
morial Foundation donated to The Commonwealth 
of Virginia in 1964. 
(3) REVERSE.—The reverse of the coins minted 
under this Act shall bear the image of the Monroe 
birthplace as drawn by the Colonial Williamsburg 
Foundation based on the 1830 drawing published as 
an etching. 
(4) DESIGNATIONS
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’’. 
(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 
under this Act shall— 
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(1) be selected by the Secretary, after consulta-
tion with the James Monroe Memorial Foundation 
and the Commission of Fine Arts; and 
(2) be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advi-
sory 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 FACILITIES.—For each of the 3 coins mint-
ed under this Act, at least 1 facility of the United States 
Mint shall be used to strike proof quality coins, while at 
least 1 other such facility shall be used to strike the uncir-
culated quality coins. 
(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 minted under 
this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 
(1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 
(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half dol-
lar 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 promptly paid by the Secretary to the James Mon-
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