[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2817 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 2817

 To provide for the redesign of the reverse of the Lincoln 1-cent coin 
   in 2009 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of 
                       President Abraham Lincoln.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2004

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Bayh, and Mr. Fitzgerald) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the redesign of the reverse of the Lincoln 1-cent coin 
   in 2009 in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of 
                       President Abraham Lincoln.

    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 ``Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial 1-Cent 
Coin Redesign Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was one of the 
        Nation's greatest leaders, demonstrating true courage during 
        the Civil War, one of the greatest crises in the Nation's 
        history.
            (2) Born of humble roots in Hardin County, Kentucky, on 
        February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln rose to the Presidency 
        through a combination of honesty, integrity, intelligence, and 
        commitment to the United States.
            (3) With the belief that all men are created equal, Abraham 
        Lincoln led the effort to free all slaves in the United States.
            (4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, with malice 
        toward none and with charity for all.
            (5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice for the 
        country he loved, dying from an assassin's bullet on April 15, 
        1865.
            (6) All Americans could benefit from studying the life of 
        Abraham Lincoln, for Lincoln's life is a model for 
        accomplishing the ``American dream'' through honesty, 
        integrity, loyalty, and a lifetime of education.
            (7) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anniversary of 
        the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
            (8) Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew to adulthood 
        in Indiana, achieved fame in Illinois, and led the nation in 
        Washington, D.C.
            (9) The so-called ``Lincoln cent'' was introduced in 1909 
        on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, making the obverse 
        design the most enduring on the nation's coinage.
            (10) President Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed by the 
        talent of Victor David Brenner that the sculptor was chosen to 
        design the likeness of President Lincoln for the coin, adapting 
        a design from a plaque Brenner had prepared earlier.
            (11) In the nearly 100 years of production of the ``Lincoln 
        cent'', there have been only 2 designs on the reverse: the 
        original, featuring 2 wheat-heads in memorial style enclosing 
        mottoes, and the current representation of the Lincoln Memorial 
        in Washington, D.C.
            (12) On the occasion of the bicentennial of President 
        Lincoln's birth and the 100th anniversary of the production of 
        the Lincoln cent, it is entirely fitting to issue a series of 
        1-cent coins with designs on the reverse that are emblematic of 
        the 4 major periods of President Lincoln's life.

SEC. 3. REDESIGN OF LINCOLN CENT FOR 2009.

    (a) In General.--During the year 2009, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in accordance with the following 
design specifications:
            (1) Obverse.--The obverse of the 1-cent coin shall continue 
        to bear the Victor David Brenner likeness of President Abraham 
        Lincoln.
            (2) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins shall bear 4 
        different designs each representing a different aspect of the 
        life of Abraham Lincoln, such as--
                    (A) his birth and early childhood in Kentucky;
                    (B) his formative years in Indiana;
                    (C) his professional life in Illinois; and
                    (D) his presidency, in Washington, D.C.
    (b) Issuance of Redesigned Lincoln Cents in 2009.--
            (1) Order.--The 1-cent coins to which this section applies 
        shall be issued with 1 of the 4 designs referred to in 
        subsection (a)(2) beginning at the start of each calendar 
        quarter of 2009.
            (2) Number.--The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of 
        such factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 
        number of 1-cent coins that shall be issued with each of the 
        designs selected for each calendar quarter of 2009.
    (c) Design Selection.--The designs for the coins specified in this 
section shall be chosen by the Secretary--
            (1) after consultation with the Abraham Lincoln 
        Bicentennial Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) after review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
        Committee.

SEC. 4. REDESIGN OF REVERSE OF 1-CENT COINS AFTER 2009.

    The design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after December 
31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln's 
preservation of the United States of America as a single and united 
country.

SEC. 5. NUMISMATIC PENNIES WITH THE SAME METALLIC CONTENT AS THE 1909 
              PENNY.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in 2009 with 
the exact metallic content as the 1-cent coin contained in 1909 in such 
number as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for numismatic 
purposes.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

     It is the sense of the Congress that the original Victor David 
Brenner design for the 1-cent coin was a dramatic departure from 
previous American coinage that should be reproduced, using the original 
form and relief of the likeness of Abraham Lincoln, on the 1-cent coins 
issued in 2009.
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