I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5818 
To modernize the legal tender of the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 17, 2006 
Mr. KOLBE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To modernize the legal tender of the United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) 
Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Redesign and issuance of commemorative circulating $2 Federal reserve 
notes. 
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Sec. 3. Cash transaction rounding. 
Sec. 4. Clarification of existing law regarding inclusion of seigniorage in budg-
et. 
Sec. 5. Recognition of market demand for $1 circulating coin. 
Sec. 6. Study on alternative metal compositions for circulating coins. 
Sec. 7. Study of effects of increasingly cashless economy on the budget and 
monetary policy. 
Sec. 8. Transfer of the United States Mint and Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing to the Federal Reserve Board. 
Sec. 9. Paper for currency. 
Sec. 10. Obsolete coins. 
Sec. 11. Issuance of redesigned quarter dollars honoring the District of Colum-
bia and each of the territories. 
SEC. 2. REDESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF COMMEMORATIVE 
CIRCULATING $2 FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the authority of 
the Secretary of the Treasury under the 8th undesignated 
paragraph of section 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, dur-
ing the 5-year period beginning January 1, 2007, the re-
verse of $2 Federal reserve notes issued or otherwise 
placed into circulation by any Federal reserve bank shall 
have such designs and be in such form and tenor as the 
Secretary may select in accordance with this section. 
(b) ISSUANCE OF NEW DESIGN EACH YEAR.—A new 
design shall be selected for $2 Federal reserve notes issued 
or otherwise placed into circulation by any Federal reserve 
bank during each year of the 5-year period referred to in 
subsection (a). 
(c) SELECTION OF DESIGN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each of the 5 designs re-
quired under this section for $2 Federal reserve 
notes shall— 
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(A) be emblematic of the history of the 
United States; and 
(B) be selected by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, after consultation with the Commis-
sion of Fine Arts. 
(2) PROHIBITION
ON
CERTAIN
REPRESENTA-
TIONS.—No portrait of a living person may be in-
cluded in the design of any $2 Federal reserve note 
under this subsection. 
(d) PRODUCTION.—Except as provided in subsection 
(a), the 8th undesignated paragraph of section 16 of the 
Federal Reserve Act shall apply to all $2 Federal reserve 
notes to which this section applies. 
(e) RETURN TO OTHER DESIGN.—After the end of 
the 5-year period referred to in subsection (a), the $2 Fed-
eral reserve note shall bear such design, and be in such 
form and tenor, as may determined to be appropriate in 
accordance with the 8th undesignated paragraph of sec-
tion 16 of the Federal Reserve Act, except that, in making 
any determination with regard to design, the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall take into account the 5 designs selected 
for such 5-year period and shall give such designs priority 
in making the final determination. 
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SEC. 3. CASH TRANSACTION ROUNDING. 
(a) ROUNDING OF CASH TRANSACTION VALUES TO 
NEAREST 5 CENTS REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, any person selling goods or services 
shall determine the total cash transaction value of such 
goods or services in the following manner: 
(1) TOTAL TRANSACTION VALUES.—The trans-
action values of goods and services shall be totaled, 
any discount or deduction therefor made, and sales 
tax or other tax imposed, if any, added to that total 
in accordance with the law of the State in which 
such goods or services are sold. 
(2) ROUNDING.— 
(A) ROUNDING
DOWN.—If the resulting 
sum ends with 1 cent, 2 cents, 6 cents, or 7 
cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in 
the sum shall be rounded down to the nearest 
amount divisible by 5 for those individuals seek-
ing to make payment with legal tender. 
(B) ROUNDING UP.—If the resulting sum 
ends with 3 cents, 4 cents, 8 cents, or 9 cents 
as the final digit, the amount of cents in the 
sum shall be rounded up to the nearest amount 
divisible by 5 for any person seeking to make 
payment with legal tender. 
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(b) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of subsection (a)(2) 
shall not apply to— 
(1) transactions the total amount of which is 2 
cents or less, or 
(2) transactions for which payment is made by 
any demand or negotiable instrument, electronic 
fund transfer, money order, credit card, or other like 
instrument. 
(c) NO EFFECT ON LEGAL TENDER.—All coins and 
currencies of the United States, regardless of when coined, 
printed, or issued, shall continue to be legal tender for 
all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties, 
and dues, in accordance with law. 
(d) COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN STATE OR LOCAL 
TAX LAWS.—Any tax imposed by any State or municipal 
taxing authority shall not apply to gains or losses resulting 
from rounding. 
(e) NUMISMATIC
ITEMS.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury may produce so many 1-cent pieces as the Sec-
retary determines are sufficient to include in uncirculated 
sets, proof sets, and other collector sets as, from time to 
time, the Secretary shall determine. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), this section shall take effect at the end 
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of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(2) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE.—If the end of 
the 180-day period referred to in paragraph (1) oc-
curs during the 3-month period beginning on No-
vember 1 of any year, this section shall take effect 
on February 1 of the year immediately following 
such year. 
(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision of this 
section shall be construed as evidence of any intention to 
eliminate the pricing of goods or services to the nearest 
cent or mill or to alter the amount of sales tax collected 
or paid to any State or municipal taxing authority. 
SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING LAW REGARDING IN-
CLUSION OF SEIGNIORAGE IN BUDGET. 
The 9th proviso of section 522 of Public Law 104– 
52 (31 U.S.C. 5136) is amended by inserting ‘‘and such 
amount shall be included as an estimated receipt of the 
Government and a receipt of the Government under para-
graphs (6) and (7), respectively, of section 1105(a) of title 
31, United States Code, in any budget submitted under 
such section’’ before the colon after ‘‘miscellaneous re-
ceipts’’. 
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SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF MARKET DEMAND FOR $1 CIRCU-
LATING COIN. 
(a) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Federal reserve banks 
may continue to place into circulation $1 Federal reserve 
notes until the date as of which the number of $1 coins 
placed in circulation in each of 2 preceding calendar years 
equals or exceeds 1,000,000,000. 
(b) POST-TRANSITION PERIOD.—After the date re-
ferred to in subsection (a), a Federal reserve bank may 
not order or place into circulation any $1 Federal reserve 
note. 
(c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
shall produce only such Federal reserve notes of $1 de-
nomination as the Board determines from time to time 
are appropriate to meet the needs of collectors of that de-
nomination. Such notes shall be issued by 1 or more Fed-
eral reserve banks in accordance with section 16 of the 
Federal Reserve Act and sold by the Board, in whole or 
in part, under procedures prescribed by the Board. 
SEC. 6. STUDY ON ALTERNATIVE METAL COMPOSITIONS 
FOR CIRCULATING COINS. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 
shall conduct a study on the feasibility, practicality, and 
cost-effectiveness of using alternative metal compositions 
for circulating United States coins. 
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(b) ISSUES.—In conducting the study under sub-
section (a), the Comptroller General shall include— 
(1) a study of the metal compositions of coins 
produced and issued by other countries and eco-
nomic unions and the minting practices of such 
countries and unions; and 
(2) an analysis of the costs to consumers and 
business that may result from any changes in the 
metal composition of United States coin, including 
transition costs, and the methods available for tim-
ing any such transition to minimize such costs. 
(c) REPORT.—Before the end of the 270-day period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress 
on the findings and conclusions with respect to the study 
conducted under subsection (a), together with such rec-
ommendations for legislative or administration action as 
the Comptroller General may determine to be appropriate. 
SEC. 7. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF INCREASINGLY CASHLESS 
ECONOMY ON THE BUDGET AND MONETARY 
POLICY. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 
shall conduct a study of the effects of a drastic and rel-
atively sudden decrease in the public use of circulating 
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coins and currency on the budget of the Federal Govern-
ment and the conduct of monetary policy. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study under 
subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall consult with 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
to the greatest extent possible. 
(c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 1- 
year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on 
the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the 
Committee on the Budget of the Senate on the findings 
and conclusion of the Comptroller General with respect to 
the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a), together 
with any comments the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget or the Board of Governors of the Fed-
eral Reserve System may choose to include, and any rec-
ommendations for legislative or administrative action the 
Comptroller General, the Director, or the Board may de-
termine to be appropriate. 
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SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AND BU-
REAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING TO THE 
FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD. 
(a) TRANSFER
OF BUREAU
OF ENGRAVING
AND 
PRINTING.—Section 303 of title 31, United States Code— 
(1) is transferred from title 31, United States 
Code, and inserted in the Federal Reserve Act after 
section 16 of such Act; 
(2) is redesignated as section 16A of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act; and 
(3) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the 
Department of the Treasury’’ and inserting ‘‘in 
the Federal Reserve System’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Secretary of the 
Treasury’’ and inserting ‘‘Board of Gov-
ernors of the Federal Reserve System’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ where 
such term appears in paragraphs (1) and 
(2) of such subsection and inserting 
‘‘Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System’’. 
(b) TRANSFER OF UNITED STATES MINT.—Section 
304 of title 31, United States Code— 
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(1) is transferred from title 31, United States 
Code, and inserted in the Federal Reserve Act after 
section 16A of such Act (as designated by subsection 
(a)(2) of this section); 
(2) is redesignated as section 16B of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act; and 
(3) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the 
Department of the Treasury’’ and inserting ‘‘in 
the Federal Reserve System’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘Sec-
retary of the Treasury’’ and inserting ‘‘Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’’. 
(c) TRANSFER OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES.—The 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall— 
(1) oversee the transfer of the United States 
Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 
from the Department of the Treasury to the Federal 
Reserve System (as provided by the amendments 
made by subsection (a) and (b)); 
(2) arrange for the accounting for, and transfer 
of, all assets and liabilities and all operational and 
management responsibilities, including obligations 
with respect to officers and employees, from the Sec-
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retary to the Board in connection with the transfer 
described in paragraph (1); and 
(3) before the end of the 6-month period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
after consulting with the Secretary of the Treasury 
and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, provide a report to the Congress on all fur-
ther technical and conforming amendments to Fed-
eral law that are appropriate to fully effectuate such 
transfer in accordance with subsection (d). 
(d) DISTRIBUTIVE PRINCIPLES.—The transfer of as-
sets and liabilities and operational and management re-
sponsibilities and the preparation of further technical and 
conforming amendments under subsection (c) shall be 
based on the following principles and the amendments 
made by subsection (e): 
(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall have 
the responsibility for the design, including inscrip-
tions, of all United States circulating coins, numis-
matic items, and national medals authorized by an 
Act of Congress. 
(2) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System shall have the responsibility for the ad-
ministration of the bureau of the United States 
Mint, each United States mint, and the Bureau of 
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