IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2527 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
OCTOBER 31, 2011 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs 
AN ACT 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in recognition and celebration of the National Baseball 
Hall of Fame. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Baseball Hall 
of Fame Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) On June 12, 1939, the National Baseball 
Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cooperstown, 
New York. Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy 
Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner com-
prised the inaugural class of inductees. This class 
set the standard for all future inductees. Since 
1939, just one percent of all Major League Baseball 
players have earned induction into the National 
Baseball Hall of Fame. 
(2) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and 
Museum is dedicated to preserving history, honoring 
excellence, and connecting generations through the 
rich history of our national pastime. Baseball has 
mirrored our Nation’s history since the Civil War, 
and is now an integral part of our Nation’s heritage. 
(3) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and 
Museum chronicles the history of our national pas-
time and houses the world’s largest collection of 
baseball artifacts, including more than 38,000 three 
dimensional 
artifacts, 
3,000,000 
documents, 
500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded 
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media. This collection ensures that baseball history 
and its unique connection to American history will 
be preserved and recounted for future generations. 
(4) Since its opening in 1939, more than 
14,000,000 baseball fans have visited the National 
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to learn about 
the history of our national pastime and the game’s 
connection to the American experience. 
(5) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and 
Museum is an educational institution, reaching 
10,000,000 Americans annually. Utilizing video con-
ference technology, students and teachers participate 
in interactive lessons led by educators from the Na-
tional Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. These award- 
winning educational programs draw upon the won-
ders of baseball to reach students in classrooms na-
tionwide. Each educational program uses baseball as 
a lens for teaching young Americans important les-
sons on an array of topics, including mathematics, 
geography, civil rights, women’s history, economics, 
industrial technology, arts, and communication. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 
of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Secretary of 
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the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins: 
(1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 50,000 $5 
coins, which shall— 
(A) weigh 8.359 grams; 
(B) have diameter of 0.850 inches; and 
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 
alloy. 
(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 
$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 750,000 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. 
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(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. 
(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, to the extent possible without significantly add-
ing to the purchase price of the coins, the $1 coins and 
$5 coins minted under this Act should be produced in a 
fashion similar to the 2009 International Year of Astron-
omy coins issued by Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint, 
so that the reverse of the coin is convex to more closely 
resemble a baseball and the obverse concave, providing a 
more dramatic display of the obverse design chosen pursu-
ant to section 4(c). 
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 
game of baseball. 
(2) 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 ‘‘2015’’; and 
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(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— 
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 
with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the 
Commission of Fine Arts and in accordance with 
subparagraph (c); and 
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee. 
(c) OBVERSE DESIGN COMPETITION.—The Secretary 
shall hold a competition and provide compensation for its 
winner to design the common obverse of the coins minted 
under this Act, with such design being emblematic of the 
game of baseball. The competition shall be held in the fol-
lowing manner: 
(1) The competition shall be judged by an ex-
pert jury chaired by the Secretary and consisting of 
3 members from the Citizens Coinage Advisory Com-
mittee who shall be elected by such Committee and 
3 members from the Commission of Fine Arts who 
shall be elected by such Commission. 
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(2) The Secretary shall determine compensation 
for the winning design, which shall be not less than 
$5,000. 
(3) The Secretary may not accept a design for 
the competition unless a plaster model accompanies 
the design. 
(d) REVERSE DESIGN.—The design on the common 
reverse of the coins minted under this Act shall depict a 
baseball similar to those used by Major League Baseball. 
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 
(a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 
Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) PERIOD
FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 
issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 
period beginning on January 1, 2015. 
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 
(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 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 National 
Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance its operations. 
(c) AUDITS.—The National Baseball Hall of Fame 
shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 
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5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard 
to the amounts received 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 com-
memorative coin program issuance limitation under sec-
tion 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in ef-
fect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Sec-
retary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection. 
SEC. 8. BUDGET COMPLIANCE. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the 
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