I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5873 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
recognition of the Bicentennial of Harriet Tubman’s birth. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2020 
Mr. MEEKS (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemo-
rative coins in recognition of the Bicentennial of Harriet 
Tubman’s birth. 
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 ‘‘Harriet Tubman Bi-
centennial Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist who 
guided over 300 people from slavery to freedom in 
10 years. 
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(2) Born on January 29, 1820, Tubman was a 
notable abolitionist who not only freed herself, but 
also freed others from slavery. 
(3) Harriet Ross Tubman, born Araminta 
‘‘Minty’’ Ross, was born a slave in the plantation of 
Edward Brodess in Dorchester County, Maryland. 
(4) With the Underground Railroad System, in 
the fall of 1849, Tubman escaped from the Poplar 
Neck Plantation, heading north to Pennsylvania. 
(5) With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law 
as part of the Compromise of 1850, the operations 
to help enslaved persons escape became a threat to 
her life. 
(6) Despite the passing of the Compromise of 
1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law, Tubman was not 
deterred and continued her work, rerouting the rail-
road to Canada instead. 
(7) Tubman made 13 trips back to Maryland, 
guiding 300 enslaved persons to freedom in the 
process. 
(8) During the arduous process of helping fugi-
tive enslaved persons escape through the Under-
ground Railroad System not a single person suc-
cumbed to death under her supervision. 
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(9) Tubman led an estimated 50 to 60 enslaved 
persons towards Canada. 
(10) During the year of 1858, Tubman aided 
John Brown, by recruiting supporters for the John 
Brown’s Harper’s Ferry Raid, a plan to attack 
slaveholders in Virginia and Maryland to help 
enslaved persons flee and become freedmen. 
(11) In the beginning of the Civil War, Tubman 
served as a cook and as a nurse in South Carolina 
and Florida. 
(12) Tubman also recruited African-American 
soldiers to join the regiment of African-American 
Soldiers. 
(13) Later in recognition for her abilities, Tub-
man served as an army scout and spy for Colonel 
James Montgomery. 
(14) Tubman distinguished herself as the first 
woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War, 
the Combahee River Raid, resulting in more than 
700 enslaved persons in South Carolina being freed. 
(15) After the Civil War, Tubman frequently 
sheltered and fed freed slaves at her home in South 
Street even though she had little money herself. She 
found a means to an end by selling produce from her 
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garden, taking in donations of food, loans from 
friends, and raising pigs in her backyard. 
(16) In her retirement, Tubman became active 
in the women’s suffrage movement, where she at-
tended meetings and gave speeches in her home 
State of New York, as well as in Boston and Wash-
ington, DC. 
(17) Tubman was an avid advocate for African- 
American women and their rights. In 1896, she was 
invited as a speaker at the first meeting of the Na-
tional Association of Colored Women. 
(18) Although living in financial insecurity, 
Tubman gave a parcel of her land to the African 
Methodist Episcopal Church, which eventually be-
came a home for the aged and indigent colored peo-
ple. At the time few social services existed for the 
elderly. 
(19) Escaping slavery; risking everything to 
save her family; aiding enslaved persons escape; 
leading a military raid; championing the cause of 
women’s suffrage; Harriet Tubman is an individual 
that has performed achievements that has had pro-
found impacts on American history and culture. 
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SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In commemoration of Harriet 
Tubman, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter referred 
to in this Act 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 at least 90 percent gold. 
(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 at least 90 percent silver. 
(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. 
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(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. 
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 
(a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The designs of the coins 
minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 
legacy of Harriet Tubman as an abolitionist. At 
least one obverse design shall bear the image of 
Harriet Tubman. 
(2) DESIGNATION
AND
INSCRIPTIONS.—On 
each coin minted under this Act, there shall be— 
(A) an inscription of Harriet Tubman; 
(B) a designation of the value of the coin; 
(C) an inscription of the year ‘‘2022’’; and 
(D) 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— 
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(1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 
with Project Legacy (Brooklyn, NY) and the Com-
mission of the Fine Arts; and 
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee. 
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 
(a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 
Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) MINT FACILITY.—Only 1 facility of the United 
States Mint may be used to strike any particular quality 
of the coins minted under this Act. 
(c) PERIOD
FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 
issue coins under this Act only during the period begin-
ning on January 1, 2022, and ending on December 31, 
2022. 
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 under section 7(a) 
with respect to the 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 the 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 issued under this 
Act shall include— 
(1) a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 
coins; 
(2) a surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 
coins; and 
(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 Project Legacy 
(Brooklyn, NY) for the purpose of accomplishing and ad-
vancing its mission. 
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(c) AUDITS.—Project Legacy (Brooklyn, NY) 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 2 
commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 
section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code. The 
Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection. 
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that— 
(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act 
will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government; and 
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 
are disbursed to any recipient designated in section 
7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 
the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, winning design 
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compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and 
shipping) is recovered by the United States Treas-
ury, consistent with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of 
title 31, United States Code. 
Æ 
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