Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act
Bill: H.R.1842 | Sponsor: Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. (D-NY)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the legacy of Harriet Tubman as an abolitionist.
The Secretary may issue coins under this bill only during the period of January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid equally to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, for the purpose of accomplishing and advancing their missions.

[117th Congress Public Law 163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 136 STAT. 1353]]

Public Law 117-163
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
recognition of the Bicentennial of Harriet Tubman's birth. <<NOTE: Aug. 
                        3, 2022 -  [H.R. 1842]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Harriet Tubman 
Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act. 31 USC 5112 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Harriet Tubman Bicentennial 
Commemorative Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Harriet Tubman was a formerly enslaved abolitionist who 
        guided about 70 people from slavery to freedom in 10 years.
            (2) Born in March 1822, 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 enslaved on the plantation of Anthony Thompson in 
        Dorchester County, Maryland.
            (4) With the help of the Underground Railroad network, in 
        the fall of 1849, Tubman escaped from Poplar Neck in Caroline 
        County, Maryland, heading north to freedom in Pennsylvania.
            (5) With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act as part of 
        the Compromise of 1850, the operations to help enslaved persons 
        escape became dangerous and she risked her life to rescue them 
        from slavery.
            (6) Despite passage of the Compromise of 1850 and the 
        Fugitive Slave Act, Tubman continued her work, escorting her 
        refugees to Canada instead.
            (7) It was during the 1850s that Tubman made 13 trips back 
        to Maryland, guiding approximately 70 enslaved persons to the 
        North, including family members, and providing instruction to 
        about 70 more who found their way to freedom on their own.
            (8) Regardless of the arduous process of helping fugitive 
        enslaved persons escape through the Underground Railroad, not a 
        single person was recaptured under Tubman's supervision.
            (9) During 1859, Tubman aided abolitionist John Brown by 
        recruiting supporters for his raid on Harper's Ferry, a planned 
        insurrection against slaveholders in Virginia and Maryland.

[[Page 136 STAT. 1354]]

            (10) In the beginning of the Civil War, Tubman served as a 
        spy, cook, and nurse in South Carolina and Florida.
            (11) Tubman also recruited newly freed African-American men 
        to join regiments of African-American soldiers called United 
        States Colored Troops.
            (12) In recognition of her abilities, Tubman served as an 
        army scout and spy for Major General David Hunter and Colonel 
        James Montgomery. Harriet Tubman was inducted into the Military 
        Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame.
            (13) 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.
            (14) After the Civil War, Tubman frequently sheltered and 
        fed newly freed enslaved persons at her home on South Street in 
        Auburn, New York, which she purchased from Secretary of State 
        William Henry Seward, even though she had little money herself. 
        She found a means to an end by working as a domestic, selling 
        produce from her garden, taking in donations of food, loans from 
        friends, and raising pigs on her farm.
            (15) Tubman became active in the women's movement as early 
        as 1860. She attended meetings and gave speeches in her home 
        State of New York, as well as in Boston and Washington, D.C.
            (16) Tubman was an avid advocate for African-American women 
        and their civil rights. In 1896, she was invited as a speaker at 
        the first meeting of the National Association of Colored Women 
        in Washington, D.C.
            (17) Although living in financial insecurity, Tubman 
        transferred a 25-acre parcel of land to the African Methodist 
        Episcopal Zion Church in 1903, which eventually became The 
        Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged and Indigent Negroes. At the 
        time, few social services existed for elderly and ill people of 
        color.
            (18) Escaping slavery, risking everything to save her family 
        and friends, aiding enslaved persons in escape from slavery, 
        leading a military raid, championing the cause of women's 
        suffrage, advocating for civil rights and access to health care, 
        Harriet Tubman is an individual that has performed achievements 
        that have had profound impacts on history and culture in the 
        United States.
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 diameter 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 diameter of 
                1.500 inches; and

[[Page 136 STAT. 1355]]

                    (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.

    (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 numismatic items.
SEC. 4. DESIGNS 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 ``2024''; and
                    (D) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.

    (b) Selection.--The designs for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) <<NOTE: Consultation.>>  selected by the Secretary, 
        after consultation with the National Underground Railroad 
        Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Harriet Tubman Home, 
        Inc. in Auburn, New York, and the Commission of the Fine Arts; 
        and
            (2) <<NOTE: Review.>>  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 beginning on January 1, 2024, and ending on 
December 31, 2024.
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).

    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders.--

[[Page 136 STAT. 1356]]

            (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 prepaid orders 
        under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable 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-dollar coin.

    (b) Distribution.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        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 
        equally to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in 
        Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. in Auburn, 
        New York, for the purpose of accomplishing and advancing their 
        missions.
            (2) Exception.--Notwithstanding section 5134(f)(1) of title 
        31, United States Code, if an entity described in paragraph (1) 
        of this subsection raises funds from private sources in an 
        amount that is less than the total amount of the proceeds of the 
        surcharge derived from the sale of the coins issued under this 
        Act, the Secretary shall promptly pay to the other entity the 
        proceeds of such surcharge.

    (c) Audits.--The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. in Auburn, New York, 
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 programs 
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 necessary 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 compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) 
        is recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent

[[Page 136 STAT. 1357]]

        with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States 
        Code.

    Approved August 3, 2022.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1842 (S. 697):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            July 26, considered and passed House.
            July 27, considered and passed Senate.

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