I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1235 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of 
the 60th Anniversary of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2017 
Mr. NEAL (for himself, Mr. BARR, and Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 
in recognition of the 60th Anniversary of the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 
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 ‘‘Naismith Memorial 
Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) On December 21, 1891, a young physical 
education instructor named James Naismith, intro-
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duced the game of ‘‘basket ball’’ to his physical edu-
cation class, in Springfield, Massachusetts. 
(2) In 1959, the Naismith Memorial Basketball 
Hall of Fame was founded and dedicated to the 
game’s creator Dr. James Naismith, in Springfield, 
MA, ‘‘The Birthplace of Basketball’’ and became the 
first and only museum to honor the game at all lev-
els around the world. 
(3) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame honors players who have achieved greatness, 
exemplary coaches, referees and other major contrib-
utors to the sport of basketball. The Inaugural Hall 
of Fame Class of 1959 had seventeen honorees who 
were inducted, including Dr. James Naismith, 
George Mikan, Forrest C. Allen, Angelo Luisetti, 
Original Celtics and First Team. 
(4) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame is recognized throughout the world as the pre-
mier institution entrusted with recording and dis-
seminating the history of the game of basketball and 
recognizing and honoring the achievements of its 
greatest players, coaches, and contributors. 
(5) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame provides an entertaining, enriching experience 
and is known for its educational outreach programs 
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and celebrates and promotes positive core values 
demonstrated by basketball’s hallowed heroes and its 
founder. 
(6) Basketball is one of America’s national 
treasures; with its fast pace which reflects the free-
dom of expression and the modern experience of life 
in the 21st century. 
(7) Since its opening in 1959, the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is home to the 
largest collection of basketball memorabilia in the 
world, including more than 30,000 three-dimensional 
objects, 800,000 photographs, and 1.5 million docu-
ments. 
(8) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame welcomes more than 6,000,000 visitors inter-
ested in discovering the rich history of the game 
through its stories, its personalities, and its most 
celebrated moments. 
(9) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame reaches over seven million Americans through 
its educational programs, events, exhibits, social 
media, and its interactive website. 
(10) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame’s customized educational programs use basket-
ball to teach young students around the world the 
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important lessons on a variety of topics including: fi-
nancial literacy, mathematics, civil rights, leadership 
of character, women’s and men’s history, and geog-
raphy. 
(11) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame will lead the celebration of the 60th Anniver-
sary of Basketball and will partner with a select 
group of constituents including the National Basket-
ball Association, the National Collegiate Athletic As-
sociation, and USA Basketball in commemorating 
the game throughout the 2019–2020 basketball sea-
son. 
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 
of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the 
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred 
to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 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) be struck on a planchet having a di-
ameter of 0.850 inches; and 
(C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent 
alloy. 
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(2) $1 SILVER COINS.—Not more than 400,000 
$1 coins, which shall— 
(A) weigh 26.73 grams; 
(B) be struck on a planchet having a di-
ameter of 1.500 inches; and 
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver. 
(3) HALF-DOLLAR
CLAD
COINS.—Not more 
than 750,000 half-dollar coins which shall— 
(A) weigh 11.34 grams; 
(B) be struck on a planchet having a di-
ameter 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. 
(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) DOME SHAPE.—The coins minted under this Act 
shall be in the shape of a dome. 
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SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The design for the coins minted 
under this Act shall be— 
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 
with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee. 
(b) DESIGNATIONS
AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each 
coin minted under this Act there shall be— 
(1) a designation of the value of the coin; 
(2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2019’’; and 
(3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In 
God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and 
‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 
(c) SELECTION AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR OB-
VERSE DESIGN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall hold a 
competition to determine the design of the common 
obverse of the coins minted under this Act, with 
such design being emblematic of the game of basket-
ball. 
(2) SELECTION AND APPROVAL.—Proposals for 
the design of coins minted under this Act may be 
submitted in accordance with the design selection 
and approval process developed by the Secretary in 
the sole discretion of the Secretary. 
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(3) PROPOSALS.—As part of the competition 
described in this subsection, the Secretary may ac-
cept proposals from artists, engravers and other em-
ployees of the United States Mint, other Government 
employees, and members of the general public. 
(4) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall de-
termine compensation for the winning design under 
this subsection, which shall be not less than $5,000. 
The Secretary shall take into account this compensa-
tion amount when determining the sale price de-
scribed in section 6(a). 
(d) REVERSE DESIGN.—The design on the common 
reverse of the coins minted under this Act shall depict a 
basketball. 
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, 2019. 
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; 
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(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, 
winning design compensation, 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. 
(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 
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the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 
shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Naismith 
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to fund an endowment 
that will enable increased operations and educational pro-
gramming of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
Fame. 
(c) AUDITS.—The Naismith Memorial Basketball 
Hall of Fame shall be subject to the audit requirements 
of section 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. 
Æ 
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