Korean War Veterans Memorial Thirty-Eighth Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act
PL 101-495 (S.2737), enacted 10/31/1990

PUBLIC LAW 101-495—OCT. 31, 1990 
104 STAT. 1187 
Public Law 101-495 
101st Congress 
An Act 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a silver doUfir coin in commemora-
tion of the thirty-eighth anniversary of the ending of the Korean War and in honor 
of those who served. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the "Korean War Veterans Memorial 
Thirty-Eighth Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) on June 25,1950, the Republic of Korea was invaded by the 
North Korean Army, 
(2) United States forces in a United Nations action defended 
South Korea and repelled the attackers, 
(3) further aggression by the Chinese Communists was also 
repelled, 
(4) an armistice was signed on July 27,1953, 
(5) American combat deaths totaled 33,629, and more than 
8,000 remains are still unaccounted for, 
(6) an additional several thousand nonbattle deaths occurred 
on or around the Korean peninsula, 
(7) 103,284 Americans were wounded, with many disabled and 
handicapped, 
(8) this war, waged under the United Nations aegis, halted 
communist aggression in Northeast Asia, preserved the human 
rights of 40 million people, and restored the territorial integrity 
of the Republic of Korea, 
(9) the desire to memorialize American gratitude to the coura-
geous men and women who served has led to the Korean War 
Veterans Memorial authorization, 
(10) this memorial must be built by private donations, and 
(11) the moneys must be raised by the thirty-eighth anniver-
sary of the ending of the war. 
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress— 
(1) that the thirty-eighth anniversary of the ending of the 
Korean War should not go unrecognized, 
(2) that the United States should recognize this anniversary 
and the veterans of the Korean War by minting and issuing a 
silver dollar coin; and 
(3) that issuance of this coin will enable the Korean War 
Veterans Memorial to be built in the Nation's capital on sched-
ule, with all donations to be deposited in the United States 
Treasury Memorial Fund. 
Oct. 31, 1990 
[S. 2737] 
Korean War 
Veterans 
Memorial 
Thirty-Eighth 
Anniversary 
Commemorative 
Coin Act. 
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104 STAT. 1188 
PUBLIC LAW 101-495—OCT. 31, 1990 
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SEC. 3. KOREAN WAR VETERANS COMMEMORATIVE COIN. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of the 
Treasury (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") shall mint and 
issue not more than 1,000,000 one-dollar silver coins to commemo-
rate the thirty-eighth anniversary of the ending of the Korean War. 
Ot)) SPECIFICATIONS.—Each silver coin minted under this Act 
shall— 
(1) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
(2) by composed of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. 
(c) DESIGN.—The design of the coins minted in accordance with 
this section shall be sjmabolic of the Korean War Veterans' heroic 
service. Each coin shall bear a designation of the value of the coin, 
an inscription of the years "1953-1991", and inscriptions of the 
words "Liberty", "In God We Trust", "United States of America", 
and "E Pluribus Unum". The design for the coins authorized by this 
Act shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the 
Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory Board and the American 
Battle Monuments Commission (hereinafer referred to as the "Ad-
visory Board" and the "Commission", respectively). 
(d) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 5132(a)(1) of title 
31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items. 
(e) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins referred to in subsection (a) shall be 
legal tender as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States 
Code. 
SEC. 4. SOURCES OF BULLION. 
The Secretary shall obtain silver for minting coins under this Act 
only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical 
Materials Stock Piling Act. 
SEC. 5. MINTING AND ISSUANCE OF COINS. 
(a) UNCIRCULATED AND PROOF QUALITIES OF COINS.—Coins minted 
under this Act may be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities, 
except that only one facility of the United States Mint may be used 
to strike each quality of coins. 
(b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue the 
coins minted under this Act beginning on January 1,1991. 
(c) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—Coins may not be minted under 
this Act after December 31,1991. 
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall sell the coins minted under 
this Act at a price equal to the face value, plus the cost of designing 
and issuing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of 
machinery, and overhead expenses). 
(b) SURCHARGES.—Sales of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of $7 for each one-dollar coin. 
(c) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make any bulk sales of the 
coins minted under this Act at a reasonable discount to reflect the 
lower costs of such sales. 
(d) PREPAID ORDERS.—The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders 
for the coins minted under this Act prior to the issuance of such 
coins. Sale prices with respect to such prepaid orders shall be at a 
reasonable discount to reflect the benefit of prepa3nment. 
PUBLIC LAW 101-495—OCT. 31, 1990 
104 STAT. 1189 
SEC. 7. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 
(a) No NET COST TO GTOVERNMENT.—The Secretary shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing 
coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the Federal 
Government. 
(b) PAYMENT FOR COINS.—A coin shall not be issued under this Act 
unless the Secretary has received— 
(1) full pajnnent for the coin; 
(2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to indemnify the 
United States for full payment; or 
(3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to the Secretary 
from a depository institution whose deposits are insured by the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit 
Union Administration Board, or the Resolution Trust Corpora-
tion. 
SEC. 8. USE OF SURCHARGES. 
(a) DISPOSITION OF SURCHARGES.—Surcharges received from the 
sale of coins minted under this Act shall be deposited in the Korean 
War Veterans Memorial Fund in the United States Treasury. 
(b) USE OF SURCHARGES.— 
(1) CONSTRUCTION.—All surcharges collected shall be available 
to the Commission— 
(A) to establish and erect the Korean War Veterans 
Memorial in the Nation's capital to honor those who served; 
(B) to make the donation required by section 8(b) of Public 
Law 99-652; and 
(C) to make the deposit described in section 3(c) of Public 
Law 99-572. 
Any surcharges in excess of the amounts needed for the pur-
poses of this paragraph shall be used as provided in paragraphs 
(2) and (3). 
(2) MAINTENANCE AND PERPETUAL CARE.—Excess funds above 
the funds required for parsigraph (1) shall be available to pro-
vide maintenance and perpetual care for the memorial. Any 
additional excess funds shall be used to establish interpretive 
centers and to disseminate information. 
(3) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FUNDS.—Any remaining excess 
funds shall be donated to the National Park Service for mainte-
nance of memorials under its jurisdiction and authorized by 
Congress during the 20th century relating to the commemora-
tion of military conflicts in which the United States w£is 
involved. 
(c) AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine the books, records, documents, and other 
data of the Commission relating to the expenditure of amounts paid 
under subsection (b). 
SEC. 9. GENERAL WAIVER OF PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), no provi-
sion 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. 
(b) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.—Subsection (a) shall not 
relieve any person entering into a contract under the authority of 
this Act from complying with any law relating to equal employment 
opportunity. 
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Public 
information. 
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104 STAT. 1190 
PUBLIC LAW 101-495—OCT. 31, 1990 
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SEC. 10. COINAGE PROFIT FUND. 
(a) DEPOSITS.—All amounts received from the sale of coins issued 
under this Act shall be deposited in the coinage profit fund. 
(b) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay the amounts authorized 
under section 8 from the coinage profit fund. 
(c) EXPENDITURES.—The Secretary shall charge the coinage profit 
fund with all expenditures under this Act. 
Approved October 31, 1990. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2737: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 136 (1990): 
July 27, considered and passed Senate. 
Oct. 10, considered and passed House, amended. 
Oct. 17, Senate concurred in House amendment.