H. R. 3187 
One Hundred Twelfth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve 
An Act 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition and celebration 
of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the March of Dimes Foundation. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘March of Dimes Commemorative 
Coin Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) President Franklin Roosevelt’s personal struggle with 
polio led him to create the National Foundation for Infantile 
Paralysis (now known as the March of Dimes) on January 
3, 1938, at a time when polio was on the rise. 
(2) The Foundation established patient aid programs and 
funded research for polio vaccines developed by Jonas Salk, 
MD, and Albert Sabin, MD. 
(3) Tested in a massive field trial in 1954 that involved 
1.8 million schoolchildren known as ‘‘polio pioneers’’, the Salk 
vaccine was licensed for use on April 12, 1955 as ‘‘safe, effective, 
and potent’’. The Salk and Sabin polio vaccines funded by 
the March of Dimes ended the polio epidemic in the United 
States. 
(4) With its original mission accomplished, the Foundation 
turned its focus to preventing birth defects, prematurity, and 
infant mortality in 1958. The Foundation began to fund 
research into the genetic, prenatal, and environmental causes 
of over 3,000 birth defects. 
(5) The Foundation’s investment in research has led to 
13 scientists winning the Nobel Prize since 1954, including 
Dr. James Watson’s discovery of the double helix. 
(6) Virginia Apgar, MD, creator of the Apgar Score, helped 
develop the Foundation’s mission for birth defects prevention; 
joining the Foundation as the head of its new birth defects 
division in 1959. 
(7) In the 1960s, the Foundation created over 100 birth 
defects treatment centers, and then turned its attention to 
assisting in the development of Neonatal Intensive Care Units, 
or NICUs. 
(8) With March of Dimes support, a Committee on Perinatal 
Health released Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy 
in 1976, which included recommendations that led to the 
regionalization of perinatal health care in the United States.
H. R. 3187—2 
(9) Since 1998, the March of Dimes has advocated for 
and witnessed the passage of the Birth Defects Prevention 
Act, Children’s Health Act, PREEMIE Act, and Newborn 
Screening Save Lives Act. 
(10) In 2003, the March of Dimes launched a Prematurity 
Campaign to increase awareness about and reduce the incidence 
of preterm birth, infant mortality, birth defects, and lifelong 
disabilities and disorders. 
(11) The March of Dimes actively promotes programs for 
and funds research into newborn screening, pulmonary surfac-
tant therapy, maternal nutrition, smoking cessation, folic acid 
consumption to prevent neural tube defects, increased access 
to maternity care, and similar programs to improve maternal 
and infant health. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) $1 SILVER COINS.—In recognition and celebration of the 
founding and proud service of the March of Dimes, the Secretary 
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which shall— 
(1) weigh 26.73 grams; 
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
(3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 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 sections 5134 and 
5136 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 mission and programs 
of the March of Dimes, and its distinguished record of gener-
ating Americans’ support to protect our children’s health. 
(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 ‘‘2015’’; and 
(C) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In God We 
Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and ‘‘E Pluribus 
Unum’’. 
(b) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted under this 
Act shall— 
(1) contain motifs that represent the past, present, and 
future of the March of Dimes and its role as champion for 
all babies, such designs to be consistent with the traditions 
and heritage of the March of Dimes; 
(2) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation with 
the March of Dimes and the Commission of Fine Arts; and 
(3) be reviewed by the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee. 
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE. 
(a) QUALITY
OF COINS.—Coins minted under this Act shall 
be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) MINT FACILITY.—For the coins minted under this Act, at 
least 1 facility of the United States Mint shall be used to strike