[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3204 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3204

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four


                                 An Act


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of the tercentenary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, and for other 
                                purposes.

    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 ``Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) Benjamin Franklin made historic contributions to the 
    development of our Nation in a number of fields: government, 
    business, science, communications, and the arts.
        (2) Benjamin Franklin was the only Founding Father to sign all 
    of our Nation's organizational documents.
        (3) Benjamin Franklin spent his career as a successful printer, 
    which included printing the official currency for the colonies of 
    Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland.
        (4) Franklin's ``Essay on Paper Currency'' of 1741 proposed 
    methods to fix the rate of exchange between the colonies and Great 
    Britain.
        (5) Benjamin Franklin, during the American Revolution, designed 
    the first American coin, the ``Continental'' penny.
        (6) Franklin made ``A Penny Saved is A Penny Earned'' a 
    household phrase to describe the American virtues of hard work and 
    economical living.
        (7) Franklin played a major role in the design of the Great 
    Seal of the United States, which appears on the One Dollar Bill and 
    other major American symbols.
        (8) Before 1979, Benjamin Franklin was the only non-president 
    of the United States whose image graced circulating coin and paper 
    currency.
        (9) The official United States half dollar from 1948-1963 
    showed Franklin's portrait, as designed by John Sinnock.
        (10) Franklin's ``Way to Wealth'' has come to symbolize 
    America's commitment to free enterprise.
        (11) The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia 
    houses the first steam printing machine for coinage, used by the 
    United States Mint, which was placed in service in 1836, the 130th 
    anniversary year of Franklin's birth.
        (12) In 1976, Franklin Hall in The Franklin Institute Science 
    Museum in Philadelphia was named the Official National Monument to 
    the great patriot, scientist and inventor.
        (13) The Franklin Institute and four other major Franklin-
    related Philadelphia cultural institutions joined hands in 2000 to 
    organize international programs to commemorate the forthcoming 
    300th anniversary of Franklin's birth in 2006.
        (14) The Congress passed the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Act 
    in 2002, creating a panel of distinguished Americans, with its 
    Secretariat in Philadelphia, to work with the private sector in 
    recommending appropriate Tercentenary programs.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
        (1) $1 silver coins with younger franklin image on obverse.--
    Not more than 250,000 $1 coins bearing the designs specified in 
    section 4(a)(2), 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 percent copper.
        (2) $1 silver coins with older franklin image on obverse.--Not 
    more than 250,000 $1 coins bearing the designs specified in section 
    4(a)(3), 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 percent copper.
    (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 section 5136 of title 31, 
United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.
    (d) Use of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.--
It is the sense of the Congress that the coins minted under this Act 
should be struck at the United States Mint at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, to the greatest extent possible.

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 life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin.
        (2) $1 coins with younger franklin image.--
            (A) Obverse.--The obverse of the coins minted under section 
        3(a)(1) shall bear the image of Benjamin Franklin as a young 
        man.
            (B) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins minted under section 
        3(a)(1) shall bear an image related to Benjamin Franklin's role 
        as a patriot and a statesman.
        (3) $1 coins with older franklin image.--
            (A) Obverse.--The obverse of the coins minted under section 
        3(a)(2) shall bear the image of Benjamin Franklin as an older 
        man.
            (B) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins minted under section 
        3(a)(2) shall bear an image related to Benjamin Franklin's role 
        in developing the early coins and currency of the new country.
        (4) 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 ``2006''; and
            (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God We 
        Trust'', ``United States of America'', 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 
    Commission of Fine Arts; and
        (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee 
    established under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.

    (a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued 
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
    (b) Commencement of Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act beginning January 1, 2006, except that the Secretary may 
initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date.
    (c) Termination of Minting Authority.--No coins shall be minted 
under this Act after December 31, 2006.

SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.

    (a) Sale Price.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price 
equal to the face value, plus the cost of designing and issuing such 
coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
expenses, and marketing).
    (b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins 
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
    (c) Prepaid Orders at a Discount.--
        (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 prepaid orders under 
    paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
    (d) Sales of Single Coins and Sets of Coins.--Coins of each design 
specified under section 4 may be sold separately or as a set containing 
a coin of each such design.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) Surcharge Required.--All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 
per coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United 
States Code, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from 
the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the 
Secretary to the Franklin Institute for purposes of the Benjamin 
Franklin Tercentenary Commission.
    (c) Audits.--The Franklin Institute shall be subject to the audit 
requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, 
with regard to the amounts received by the Institute pursuant to 
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 (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out 
this subsection.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.