[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2568 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2568

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 23 (legislative day, June 22), 2004

   Mr. Biden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Benjamin Franklin made historic contributions to the 
        development of our Nation in a number of fields, including 
        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 $1 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 
        (in this Act referred to as the ``Franklin Institute'') is a 
        museum with an interactive approach to science and technology 
        dedicated to the work of Benjamin Franklin;
            (12) the Franklin Institute 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;
            (13) in 1976, Franklin Hall in the Franklin Institute was 
        named the Official National Monument to the great patriot, 
        scientist, and inventor;
            (14) the Franklin Institute and 4 other major Benjamin 
        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; 
        and
            (15) in 2002, Congress passed the Benjamin Franklin 
        Tercentenary Commission Act (Public Law 107-202), creating a 
        panel of distinguished Americans to work with the private 
        sector in recommending appropriate Tercentenary programs, with 
        the Franklin Institute serving as its administrative 
        secretariat.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (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 Coin 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 of coins minted under this Act 
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 celebration of 
the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary.
    (c) Audits.--The Franklin Institute shall be subject to the audit 
requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, for 
purposes of this Act.
                                 <all>