[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1953 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1953

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of the Old Mint at San Francisco, otherwise known as the ``Granite 
                    Lady'', and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 2005

Ms. Pelosi (for herself and Mr. Castle) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
  of the Old Mint at San Francisco, otherwise known as the ``Granite 
                    Lady'', 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 ``San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative 
Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress hereby finds as follows:
            (1) The Granite Lady played an important role in the 
        history of the Nation.
            (2) The San Francisco Mint was established pursuant to an 
        Act of Congress of July 3, 1852, to convert miners' gold from 
        the California gold rush into coins.
            (3) The San Francisco Old Mint Building was designed by 
        architect A.B. Mullett, who also designed the United States 
        Treasury Building and the Old Executive Office Building.
            (4) The solid construction of the Granite Lady enabled it 
        to survive the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, making 
        it the only financial institution that was able to operate 
        immediately after the earthquake as the treasury for disaster 
        relief funds for the city of San Francisco.
            (5) Coins struck at the San Francisco Old Mint are 
        distinguished by the ``S'' mint mark.
            (6) The San Francisco Old Mint is famous for having struck 
        many rare, legendary issues, such as the 1870-S $3 coin, which 
        is valued today at well over $1,000,000, and the 1894-S dime 
        which is comparatively rare.
            (7) The San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin will be 
        the first commemorative coin to honor a United States mint.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and 
in commemoration of the San Francisco Old Mint, the Secretary of the 
Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall 
mint and issue the following coins:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, 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 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. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, 
        its importance to California and the history of the United 
        States, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 
        earthquake and fire.
            (2) 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 the Board of the San Francisco 
        Museum and Historical Society; and
            (2) 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.--The coins authorized under this Act shall be 
struck at the San Francisco Mint to the greatest extent possible.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2006.

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 in section 7(a) with respect to 
        such 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.--
            (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.

SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.

    (a) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall 
include a surcharge as follows:
            (1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
            (2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
    (b) Distribution.--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 to 
the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for use for the 
purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a 
city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
    (c) Audits.--The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society 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 Fund 
under subsection (b).
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