I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2461
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in commemo-
ration of the centennial anniversary of the first manned flight of Orville
and Wilbur Wright in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17,
1903.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 11, 1997
Mr. JONES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Banking and Financial Services
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue
coins in commemoration of the centennial anniversary
of the first manned flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright
in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
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 ‘‘First Flight Com-
memorative Coin Act of 1997’’.
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SEC. 2. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)
shall mint and issue the following coins:
(1) $10 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000
$10 coins, each of which shall—
(A) weigh 16.718 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.06 inches; and
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent
alloy.
(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 500,000
$1 coins, each of 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 each of 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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SEC. 3. SOURCES OF BULLION.
The Secretary shall obtain gold and silver for minting
coins under this Act pursuant to the authority of the Sec-
retary under other provisions of law, including authority
relating to the use of silver stockpiles established under
the Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act, as
applicable.
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
first flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
(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 ‘‘2003’’; 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 be—
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation
with the Board of Directors of the First Flight
Foundation and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
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(2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative
Coin Advisory Committee.
SEC. 5. PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), the Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act
only during the period beginning on August 1, 2003, and
ending on July 31, 2004.
(b) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary determines that
there is sufficient public demand for the coins minted
under section 2(a)(3), the Secretary may extend the period
of issuance under subsection (a) for a period of 5 years
with respect to those coins.
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 subsection (d)
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).
(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk
sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable
discount.
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(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.
(d) SURCHARGES.—All sales shall include a sur-
charge of—
(1) $35 per coin for the $10 coin;
(2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
(3) $1 per coin for the half dollar coin.
(e) MARKETING EXPENSES.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that—
(1) a plan is established for marketing the coins
minted under this Act; and
(2) adequate funds are made available to cover
the costs of carrying out that marketing plan.
SEC. 7. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULA-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), no provision of law governing procurement or public
contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods
and services necessary for carrying out the provisions of
this Act.
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(b) EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY.—Sub-
section (a) shall not relieve any person entering into a con-
tract under the authority of this Act from complying with
any law relating to equal employment opportunity.
SEC. 8. DISTRIBUTION OF SURCHARGES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All surcharges received by the
Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall
be promptly paid by the Secretary to the First Flight
Foundation for the purposes of—
(1) repairing, refurbishing, and maintaining the
Wright Brothers Monument on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina; and
(2) expanding (or, if necessary, replacing) and
maintaining the visitor center and other facilities at
the Wright Brothers National Memorial Park on the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, including providing
educational programs and exhibits for visitors.
(b) AUDITS.—The Comptroller General of the United
States shall have the right to examine such books, records,
documents, and other data of the First Flight Foundation
as may be related to the expenditures of amounts paid
under subsection (a).
SEC. 9. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this
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Act will not result in any net cost to the United States
Government.
SEC. 10. WAIVER OF COIN PROGRAM RESTRICTIONS.
The provisions of subparagraph (F) of section 5134
of title 31, United States Code, do not apply to the coins
minted and issued under this Act, since the surcharge pro-
ceeds of this Act will be used for building, repairing, and
other endeavors in a United States National Park.
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