I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 902
To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion coin, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
Mr. CASTLE (for himself and Mrs. MALONEY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To improve circulation of the $1 coin, create a new bullion 
coin, 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 ‘‘Presidential $1 Coin 
Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) There are sectors of the United States econ-
omy, including public transportation, parking me-
ters, vending machines and low-dollar value trans-
actions, in which the use of a $1 coin is both useful 
and desirable for keeping costs and prices down. 
(2) For a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin 
introduced in 2000 has not been widely sought-after 
by the public, leading to higher costs for merchants 
and thus higher prices for consumers. 
(3) The success of the 50 States Commemora-
tive Coin Program for circulating quarter dollars 
shows that a design on a United States circulating 
coin that is regularly changed in a manner similar 
to the systematic change in designs in such Program 
radically increases demand for the coin, rapidly pull-
ing it through the economy. 
(4) The 50 States Commemorative Coin Pro-
gram also has been an educational tool, teaching 
both Americans and visitors something about each 
State for which a quarter has been issued. 
(5) A national survey and study by the Govern-
ment Accountability Office has indicated that many 
Americans who do not seek, or who reject, the new 
$1 coin for use in commerce would actively seek the 
coin if an attractive, educational rotating design 
were to be struck on the coin. 
(6) The President is the leader of our tripartite 
government and the President’s spouse has often set
the social tone for the White House while spear-
heading and highlighting important issues for the 
country. 
(7) Sacagewea, as currently represented on the 
new $1 coin, is an important symbol of American 
history. 
(8) Many people cannot name all of the Presi-
dents, and fewer can name the spouses, nor can 
many people accurately place each President in the 
proper time period of American history. 
(9) First Spouses have not generally been rec-
ognized on American coinage. 
(10) In order to revitalize the design of United 
States coinage and return circulating coinage to its 
position as not only a necessary means of exchange 
in commerce but also as an object of aesthetic beau-
ty in its own right, it is appropriate to move many 
of the mottos and emblems, the inscription of the 
year, and the so-called ‘‘mint marks’’ that currently 
appear on the 2 faces of each circulating coin to the 
edge of the coin, which would allow larger and more 
dramatic artwork on the coins reminiscent of the so-
called ‘‘Golden Age of Coinage’’ in the United 
States, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, 
initiated by President Theodore Roosevelt, with the
assistance of noted sculptors and medallic artists 
James Earle Fraser and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. 
(11) Placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, 
known as edge-incusing, is a hallmark of modern 
coinage and is common in large-volume production 
of coinage elsewhere in the world, such as the 
2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation, but it has 
not been done on a large scale in United States coin-
age in recent years. 
(12) Although the Congress has authorized the 
Secretary of the Treasury to issue gold coins with a 
purity of 99.99 percent, the Secretary has not done 
so. 
(13) Bullion coins are a valuable tool for the in-
vestor and, in some cases, an important aspect of 
coin collecting. 
SEC. 3. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM. 
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subsection (m) the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(n) REDESIGN AND ISSUANCE OF CIRCULATING $1 
COINS HONORING EACH OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE 
UNITED STATES.—
‘‘(1) REDESIGN BEGINNING IN 2007.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub-
section (d) and in accordance with the provi-
sions of this subsection, $1 coins issued during 
the period beginning January 1, 2007, and end-
ing upon the termination of the program under 
paragraph (6) shall have designs on the obverse 
selected in accordance with paragraph (2)(B) 
which are emblematic of the Presidents of the 
United States and a design on the reverse se-
lected in accordance with paragraph (2)(A). 
‘‘(B) CONTINUITY
PROVISION.—Notwith-
standing subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 
continue to mint and issue $1 coins which bear 
any design in effect before the issuance of coins 
as required under this subsection, including any 
$1 coin issued in accordance with subsection 
(d)(1). 
‘‘(2) DESIGN
REQUIREMENTS.—The $1 coins 
issued in accordance with paragraph (1)(A) shall 
meet the following design requirements: 
‘‘(A) COIN REVERSE.—The design on the 
reverse shall bear—
‘‘(i) a likeness of the Statue of Lib-
erty extending to the rim of the coin and 
large enough to provide a dramatic rep-
resentation of Liberty while not being large 
enough to create the impression of a ‘2-
headed’ coin; 
‘‘(ii) the inscription ‘$1’ ; and 
‘‘(iii) the inscription ‘United States of 
America’. 
‘‘(B) COIN OBVERSE.—The design on the 
obverse shall contain the name and likeness of 
a President of the United States and basic in-
formation about the President, including the 
dates or years of the term of office of such 
President and a number indicating the order of 
the period of service in which the President 
served. 
‘‘(C) EDGE-INCUSED INSCRIPTIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The inscription of 
the year of minting or issuance of the coin 
and the inscriptions ‘E Pluribus Unum’ 
and ‘In God We Trust’ shall be edge-
incused into the coin. 
‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION OF DISTINCTIVE 
EDGE.—The edge-incusing of the inscrip-
tions under clause (i) on coins issued 
under this subsection shall be done in a 
manner that preserves the distinctive edge
of the coin so that the denomination of the 
coin is readily discernible, including by in-
dividuals who are blind or visually im-
paired. 
‘‘(D) INSCRIPTIONS
OF ‘LIBERTY’.—Not-
withstanding the 2d sentence of subsection 
(d)(1), because the use of a design bearing the 
likeness of the Statue of Liberty on the reverse 
of the coins issued under this subsection ade-
quately conveys the concept of Liberty, the in-
scription of ‘Liberty’ shall not appear on the 
coins. 
‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON SITTING PRESIDENT 
IN
SERIES.—No coin issued under this sub-
section may bear the image of a President who 
has not completed such President’s period of 
service. 
‘‘(3) ISSUANCE
OF
COINS
COMMEMORATING 
PRESIDENTS.—
‘‘(A) ORDER
OF
ISSUANCE.—The coins 
issued under this subsection commemorating 
Presidents of the United States shall be issued 
in the order of the period of service of each 
President, beginning with President George 
Washington.
‘‘(B) TREATMENT
OF
PERIOD
OF
SERV-
ICE.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), only 1 coin design shall be issued for 
a period of service for any President, no 
matter how many consecutive terms of of-
fice the President served. 
‘‘(ii) NONCONSECUTIVE TERMS.—If a 
President has served during 2 or more 
nonconsecutive periods of service, a coin 
shall be issued under this subsection for 
each such nonconsecutive period of service. 
‘‘(4) ISSUANCE OF COINS COMMEMORATING 4 
PRESIDENTS DURING EACH YEAR OF THE PERIOD.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the 
$1 coins issued during each year of the period 
referred to in paragraph (1) shall be emblem-
atic of 4 Presidents until the year the program 
terminates. 
‘‘(B) NUMBER OF EACH OF 4 CIRCULATING 
COIN DESIGNS IN EACH YEAR.—The Secretary 
shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as 
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 
number of $1 coins that shall be issued with
each of the designs selected for each year of the 
period referred to in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(5) ISSUANCE
OF
NUMISMATIC
COINS.—The 
Secretary may mint and issue such number of $1 
coins of each design selected under this subsection 
in uncirculated and proof qualities as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(6) 
TERMINATION
OF
PROGRAM.—The 
issuance of coins under this subsection shall termi-
nate when each President who has finished such 
President’s period of service has been so honored 
and may not be resumed except by an Act of Con-
gress. 
‘‘(7) REVERSION
TO
PRECEDING
DESIGN.—
Upon the termination of the issuance of coins under 
this subsection, the design of all $1 coins shall re-
vert to the design on $1 coins being issued imme-
diately before the issuance of coins under this sub-
section.’’. 
SEC. 4. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM. 
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subsection (n) (as added by 
the preceding section of this subtitle) the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(o) FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the same period in 
which the $1 coins are issued under subsection (n) 
which are emblematic of the Presidents of the 
United States, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
issue bullion coins under this subsection that are 
emblematic of the spouse of each such President. 
‘‘(2) SPECIFICATIONS.—The coins issued under 
this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) have the same diameter as the $1 
coins described in subsection (n); 
‘‘(B) weigh 0.5 ounce; and 
‘‘(C) contain 99.99 percent pure gold. 
‘‘(3) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) COIN OBVERSE.—The design on the 
obverse of each coin issued under this sub-
section shall contain—
‘‘(i) the name and likeness of a person 
who was a spouse of a President during 
the President’s period of service; 
‘‘(ii) an inscription of the years during 
which such person was the spouse of a 
President during the President’s period of 
service; and
‘‘(iii) the number indicating the order 
of the period of service in which such 
President served. 
‘‘(B) COIN REVERSE.—The design on the 
reverse of each coin issued under this sub-
section shall bear—
‘‘(i) images emblematic of the life and 
work of the First Spouse whose image is 
borne on the obverse; and 
‘‘(ii) the inscription ‘United States of 
America’. 
‘‘(C) DESIGNATED DENOMINATION.—Each 
coin issued under this subsection shall bear, on 
the reverse, an inscription of the nominal de-
nomination of the coin which shall be ‘$10’. 
‘‘(D) DESIGN
IN
CASE
OF
NO
FIRST 
SPOUSE.—In the case of any President who 
served without a spouse—
‘‘(i) the image on the obverse of the 
bullion coin corresponding to the $1 coin 
relating to such President shall be an 
image emblematic of the concept of ‘Lib-
erty’—
‘‘(I) as represented on a United 
States coin issued during the period 
of service of such President; or 
‘‘(II) as represented, in the case 
of President Chester Alan Arthur, by 
a design incorporating the name and 
likeness of Alice Paul, a leading strat-
egist in the suffrage movement, who 
was instrumental in gaining women 
the right to vote upon the adoption of 
the 19th amendment and thus partici-
pate in the election of future Presi-
dents, and who was born on January 
11, 1885, during the term of Presi-
dent Arthur; and 
‘‘(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin 
shall be of a design representative of 
themes of such President, except that in 
the case of the bullion coin referred to in 
clause (i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall 
be representative of the suffrage move-
ment. 
‘‘(E) DESIGN
AND
COIN
FOR
EACH 
SPOUSE.—A separate coin shall be designed and 
issued under this section for each person who
was the spouse of a President during any por-
tion of a term of office of such President. 
‘‘(F) INSCRIPTIONS.—Each bullion coin 
issued under this subsection shall bear the in-
scription of the year of minting or issuance of 
the coin and such other inscriptions as the Sec-
retary may determine to be appropriate. 
‘‘(4) SALE OF BULLION COINS.—Each bullion 
coin issued under this subsection shall be sold for an 
amount the Secretary of the Treasury determines to 
be appropriate that is equal to or greater than the 
sum of—
‘‘(A) the face value of the coins; and 
‘‘(B) the cost of designing and issuing the 
coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and 
shipping). 
‘‘(5) ISSUANCE
OF
COINS
COMMEMORATING 
FIRST SPOUSES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The bullion coins 
issued under this subsection with respect to any 
spouse of a President shall be issued on the 
same schedule as the $1 coin issued under sub-
section (n) with respect to such President.
‘‘(B) MAXIMUM
NUMBER
OF
BULLION 
COINS
FOR
EACH
DESIGN.—The Secretary 
shall—
‘‘(i) prescribe, on the basis of such 
factors as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate, the maximum number of bul-
lion coins that shall be issued with each of 
the designs selected under this subsection; 
and 
‘‘(ii) announce, before the issuance of 
the bullion coins of each such design, the 
maximum number of bullion coins of that 
design that will be issued. 
‘‘(C) TERMINATION
OF
PROGRAM.—No 
bullion coin may be issued under this subsection 
after the design on the $1 coin reverts, in ac-
cordance with subsection (n)(7), to the design 
on $1 coins being issued immediately before the 
issuance of coins under subsection (n). 
‘‘(6) QUALITY
OF
COINS.—The bullion coins 
shall be issued in both proof and uncirculated quali-
ties. 
‘‘(7) SOURCE
OF
GOLD
BULLION.—The Sec-
retary shall acquire gold for the coins issued under 
this subsection by purchase of gold mined from nat-
ural deposits in the United States, or in a territory 
or possession of the United States, within 1 year 
after the month in which the ore from which it is 
derived was mined. The Secretary shall pay not 
more than the average world price for the gold. 
‘‘(8) BRONZE
MEDALS.—The Secretary may 
strike and sell bronze medals that bear the likeness 
of the bullion coins authorized under this subsection, 
at a price, size, and weight, and with such inscrip-
tions, as the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate.’’. 
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) while the American tradition of not issuing 
a coin with the image of a living person has served 
the country well and deserves to be continued as a 
general practice, in a series of coins commemorating 
former Presidents, all former Presidents should be 
so honored notwithstanding such tradition; 
(2) the full circulation potential and cost-sav-
ings benefit projections for the Presidential $1 Coin 
Program are not likely to be achieved unless the 
coins are delivered in ways useful to ordinary com-
merce;
(3) in order for the Presidential $1 Coin Pro-
gram to achieve maximum success—
(A) the coin should be as attractive as pos-
sible; and 
(B) the Director of the United States Mint 
should take all reasonable steps to ensure that 
the coins described in section 5112(n) of title 
31, United States Code, remain tarnish-free for 
as long as possible without incurring undue ex-
pense; 
(4) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines 
to include on any $1 coin minted under section 
5112(n) of title 31, United States Code (as added 
by section 4 of this Act) a mark denoting the United 
States Mint facility at which the coin was struck, 
such mark should be edge-incused; 
(5) at such time as the Secretary of Treasury 
determines to be appropriate, and after consultation 
with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System and the submission of notice to the Con-
gress, the Secretary should declare to be obsolete 
any circulating $1 coin that bears the design of the 
$1 coins being issued immediately before the 
issuance of coins with the design referred to in sec-
tion 5112(n)(7) of title 31, United States Code;
(6) in connection with the introduction of the 
$1 coins under the Presidential $1 Coin Program—
(A) the coins should not be introduced 
with an overly expensive taxpayer-funded public 
relations campaign; and 
(B) the Director of the United States 
Mint, a bureau in the Department of the Treas-
ury, should work with consumer groups, media 
outlets, and schools to ensure an adequate 
amount of news coverage about the start of the 
coin program so consumers will know of the 
availability of the coins; 
(7) the Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System and the Secretary of the Treasury 
should take steps to ensure that an adequate supply 
of $1 coins are available for commerce and collectors 
at such places and in such quantities as are appro-
priate by—
(A) meeting, from time to time but no less 
frequently than quarterly, with a coin users 
group that includes representatives of mer-
chants who would benefit from the increased 
usage of $1 coins, vending machine and other 
coin acceptor manufacturers, vending machine 
owners and operators, transit officials, munic-
ipal parking officials, depository institutions, 
coin and currency handlers, armored-car opera-
tors, car wash operators, and coin collectors 
and dealers to accurately gauge demand for 
coins and to anticipate and eliminate obstacles 
to the easy and efficient distribution and cir-
culation of coins issued under the Presidential 
$1 Coin Program as well as all other circulating 
coins; 
(B) submitting a semiannual report to the 
Congress containing an assessment of the re-
maining obstacles to the efficient and timely 
circulation of coins, and particularly coins 
issued under the Presidential $1 Coin Program, 
together with such recommendations for legisla-
tive action the Board and the Secretary may 
determine to be appropriate; 
(C) consulting with industry representa-
tives to encourage operators of vending ma-
chines and other automated coin-accepting de-
vices in the United States to accept coins issued 
under the Presidential $1 Coin Program, and to 
include notices on the machines and devices of 
such acceptability;
(D) ensuring that during an introductory 
period, all institutions that want unmixed sup-
plies of each newly-issued design of $1 coins 
under the Presidential $1 Coin Program are 
able to obtain such unmixed supplies; and 
(E) consulting with representatives of de-
pository institutions and armored-car operators 
to support the availability of $1 coins in pack-
aging of sizes and types appropriate for and 
useful to ordinary commerce, including rolled 
coins; and 
(8) the Director of the United States Mint 
should take all steps necessary to expand the mar-
ketplace for bullion coins, and reduce barriers to the 
sale of bullion coins, by ensuring that—
(A) the greatest number possible of rep-
utable, reliable, and responsible dealers are 
qualified to offer for sale all bullion coins struck 
and issued by the United States Mint; and 
(B) all such dealers and their customers 
have equal and timely access to all new issues 
of such bullion coins.
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