[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1047 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]


        S.1047

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the fourth day of January, two thousand and five


                                 An Act


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
of each of the Nation's past Presidents and their spouses, respectively, 
to improve circulation of the $1 coin, to create a new bullion coin, 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 ``Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005''.

                     TITLE I--PRESIDENTIAL $1 COINS

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
        (1) There are sectors of the United States economy, including 
    public transportation, parking meters, vending machines, and low-
    dollar value transactions, in which the use of a $1 coin is both 
    useful and desirable for keeping costs and prices down.
        (2) For a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin introduced in 
    2000 has not been widely sought-after by the public, leading to 
    higher costs for merchants and thus higher prices for consumers.
        (3) The success of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program (31 
    U.S.C. 5112(l)) for circulating quarter dollars shows that a design 
    on a United States circulating coin that is regularly changed in a 
    manner similar to the systematic change in designs in such Program 
    radically increases demand for the coin, rapidly pulling it through 
    the economy.
        (4) The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program also has been an 
    educational tool, teaching both Americans and visitors something 
    about each State for which a quarter has been issued.
        (5) A national survey and study by the Government 
    Accountability Office has indicated that many Americans who do not 
    seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin for use in commerce would 
    actively seek the coin if an attractive, educational rotating 
    design were to be struck on the coin.
        (6) The President is the leader of our tripartite government 
    and the President's spouse has often set the social tone for the 
    White House while spearheading and highlighting important issues 
    for the country.
        (7) Sacagawea, as currently represented on the new $1 coin, is 
    an important symbol of American history.
        (8) Many people cannot name all of the Presidents, and fewer 
    can name the spouses, nor can many people accurately place each 
    President in the proper time period of American history.
        (9) First Spouses have not generally been recognized on 
    American coinage.
        (10) In order to revitalize the design of United States coinage 
    and return circulating coinage to its position as not only a 
    necessary means of exchange in commerce, but also as an object of 
    aesthetic beauty in its own right, it is appropriate to move many 
    of the mottos and emblems, the inscription of the year, and the so-
    called ``mint marks'' that currently appear on the 2 faces of each 
    circulating coin to the edge of the coin, which would allow larger 
    and more dramatic artwork on the coins reminiscent of the so-called 
    ``Golden Age of Coinage'' in the United States, at the beginning of 
    the Twentieth Century, initiated by President Theodore Roosevelt, 
    with the assistance of noted sculptors and medallic artists James 
    Earle Fraser and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
        (11) Placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, known as edge-
    incusing, is a hallmark of modern coinage and is common in large-
    volume production of coinage elsewhere in the world, such as the 
    2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation, but it has not been done 
    on a large scale in United States coinage in recent years.
        (12) Although the Congress has authorized the Secretary of the 
    Treasury to issue gold coins with a purity of 99.99 percent, the 
    Secretary has not done so.
        (13) Bullion coins are a valuable tool for the investor and, in 
    some cases, an important aspect of coin collecting.

SEC. 102. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(n) Redesign and Issuance of Circulating $1 Coins Honoring Each 
of the Presidents of the United States.--
        ``(1) Redesign beginning in 2007.--
            ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (d) and in 
        accordance with the provisions of this subsection, $1 coins 
        issued during the period beginning January 1, 2007, and ending 
        upon the termination of the program under paragraph (8), 
        shall--
                ``(i) have designs on the obverse selected in 
            accordance with paragraph (2)(B) which are emblematic of 
            the Presidents of the United States; and
                ``(ii) have a design on the reverse selected in 
            accordance with paragraph (2)(A).
            ``(B) Continuity provisions.--
                ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
            the Secretary shall continue to mint and issue $1 coins 
            which bear any design in effect before the issuance of 
            coins as required under this subsection (including the so-
            called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins).
                ``(ii) Circulation quantity.--Beginning January 1, 
            2007, and ending upon the termination of the program under 
            paragraph (8), the Secretary annually shall mint and issue 
            such `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins for circulation in 
            quantities of no less than \1/3\ of the total $1 coins 
            minted and issued under this subsection.''.
        ``(2) Design requirements.--The $1 coins issued in accordance 
    with paragraph (1)(A) shall meet the following design requirements:
            ``(A) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse shall bear--
                ``(i) a likeness of the Statue of Liberty extending to 
            the rim of the coin and large enough to provide a dramatic 
            representation of Liberty while not being large enough to 
            create the impression of a `2-headed' coin;
                ``(ii) the inscription `$1'; and
                ``(iii) the inscription `United States of America'.
            ``(B) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse shall 
        contain--
                ``(i) the name and likeness of a President of the 
            United States; and
                ``(ii) basic information about the President, 
            including--

                    ``(I) the dates or years of the term of office of 
                such President; and
                    ``(II) a number indicating the order of the period 
                of service in which the President served.

            ``(C) Edge-incused inscriptions.--
                ``(i) In general.--The inscription of the year of 
            minting or issuance of the coin and the inscriptions `E 
            Pluribus Unum' and `In God We Trust' shall be edge-incused 
            into the coin.
                ``(ii) Preservation of distinctive edge.--The edge-
            incusing of the inscriptions under clause (i) on coins 
            issued under this subsection shall be done in a manner that 
            preserves the distinctive edge of the coin so that the 
            denomination of the coin is readily discernible, including 
            by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
            ``(D) Inscriptions of `liberty'.--Notwithstanding the 
        second sentence of subsection (d)(1), because the use of a 
        design bearing the likeness of the Statue of Liberty on the 
        reverse of the coins issued under this subsection adequately 
        conveys the concept of Liberty, the inscription of `Liberty' 
        shall not appear on the coins.
            ``(E) Limitation in series to deceased presidents.--No coin 
        issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living 
        former or current President, or of any deceased former 
        President during the 2-year period following the date of the 
        death of that President.
        ``(3) Issuance of coins commemorating presidents.--
            ``(A) Order of issuance.--The coins issued under this 
        subsection commemorating Presidents of the United States shall 
        be issued in the order of the period of service of each 
        President, beginning with President George Washington.
            ``(B) Treatment of period of service.--
                ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), only 1 coin 
            design shall be issued for a period of service for any 
            President, no matter how many consecutive terms of office 
            the President served.
                ``(ii) Nonconsecutive terms.--If a President has served 
            during 2 or more nonconsecutive periods of service, a coin 
            shall be issued under this subsection for each such 
            nonconsecutive period of service.
        ``(4) Issuance of coins commemorating 4 presidents during each 
    year of the period.--
            ``(A) In general.--The designs for the $1 coins issued 
        during each year of the period referred to in paragraph (1) 
        shall be emblematic of 4 Presidents until each President has 
        been so honored, subject to paragraph (2)(E).
            ``(B) Number of 4 circulating coin designs in each year.--
        The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as 
        the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the number of $1 
        coins that shall be issued with each of the designs selected 
        for each year of the period referred to in paragraph (1).
        ``(5) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be 
    legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
        ``(6) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section 
    5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be 
    considered to be numismatic items.
        ``(7) Issuance of numismatic coins.--The Secretary may mint and 
    issue such number of $1 coins of each design selected under this 
    subsection in uncirculated and proof qualities as the Secretary 
    determines to be appropriate.
        ``(8) Termination of program.--The issuance of coins under this 
    subsection shall terminate when each President has been so honored, 
    subject to paragraph (2)(E), and may not be resumed except by an 
    Act of Congress.
        ``(9) Reversion to preceding design.--Upon the termination of 
    the issuance of coins under this subsection, the design of all $1 
    coins shall revert to the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins.''.

SEC. 103. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section 
102, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(o) First Spouse Bullion Coin Program.--
        ``(1) In general.--During the same period described in 
    subsection (n), the Secretary shall issue bullion coins under this 
    subsection that are emblematic of the spouse of each such 
    President.
        ``(2) Specifications.--The coins issued under this subsection 
    shall--
            ``(A) have the same diameter as the $1 coins described in 
        subsection (n);
            ``(B) weigh 0.5 ounce; and
            ``(C) contain 99.99 percent pure gold.
        ``(3) Design requirements.--
            ``(A) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse of each coin 
        issued under this subsection shall contain--
                ``(i) the name and likeness of a person who was a 
            spouse of a President during the President's period of 
            service;
                ``(ii) an inscription of the years during which such 
            person was the spouse of a President during the President's 
            period of service; and
                ``(iii) a number indicating the order of the period of 
            service in which such President served.
            ``(B) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse of each coin 
        issued under this subsection shall bear--
                ``(i) images emblematic of the life and work of the 
            First Spouse whose image is borne on the obverse; and
                ``(ii) the inscription `United States of America'.
            ``(C) Designated denomination.--Each coin issued under this 
        subsection shall bear, on the reverse, an inscription of the 
        nominal denomination of the coin which shall be `$10'.
            ``(D) Design in case of no first spouse.--In the case of 
        any President who served without a spouse--
                ``(i) the image on the obverse of the bullion coin 
            corresponding to the $1 coin relating to such President 
            shall be an image emblematic of the concept of `Liberty'--

                    ``(I) as represented on a United States coin issued 
                during the period of service of such President; or
                    ``(II) as represented, in the case of President 
                Chester Alan Arthur, by a design incorporating the name 
                and likeness of Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the 
                suffrage movement, who was instrumental in gaining 
                women the right to vote upon the adoption of the 19th 
                amendment and thus the ability to participate in the 
                election of future Presidents, and who was born on 
                January 11, 1885, during the term of President Arthur; 
                and

                ``(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin shall be of a 
            design representative of themes of such President, except 
            that in the case of the bullion coin referred to in clause 
            (i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall be representative of 
            the suffrage movement.
            ``(E) Design and coin for each spouse.--A separate coin 
        shall be designed and issued under this section for each person 
        who was the spouse of a President during any portion of a term 
        of office of such President.
            ``(F) Inscriptions.--Each bullion coin issued under this 
        subsection shall bear the inscription of the year of minting or 
        issuance of the coin and such other inscriptions as the 
        Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
        ``(4) Sale of bullion coins.--Each bullion coin issued under 
    this subsection shall be sold by the Secretary at a price that is 
    equal to or greater than the sum of--
            ``(A) the face value of the coins; and
            ``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
        (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
        expenses, marketing, and shipping).
        ``(5) Issuance of coins commemorating first spouses.--
            ``(A) In general.--The bullion coins issued under this 
        subsection with respect to any spouse of a President shall be 
        issued on the same schedule as the $1 coin issued under 
        subsection (n) with respect to each such President.
            ``(B) Maximum number of bullion coins for each design.--The 
        Secretary shall--
                ``(i) prescribe, on the basis of such factors as the 
            Secretary determines to be appropriate, the maximum number 
            of bullion coins that shall be issued with each of the 
            designs selected under this subsection; and
                ``(ii) announce, before the issuance of the bullion 
            coins of each such design, the maximum number of bullion 
            coins of that design that will be issued.
            ``(C) Termination of program.--No bullion coin may be 
        issued under this subsection after the termination, in 
        accordance with subsection (n)(8), of the $1 coin program 
        established under subsection (n).
        ``(6) Quality of coins.--The bullion coins minted under this 
    Act shall be issued in both proof and uncirculated qualities.
        ``(7) Source of gold bullion.--
            ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the 
        coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined 
        from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory 
        or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the 
        month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
            ``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than 
        the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph 
        (A).
        ``(8) Bronze medals.--The Secretary may strike and sell bronze 
    medals that bear the likeness of the bullion coins authorized under 
    this subsection, at a price, size, and weight, and with such 
    inscriptions, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
        ``(9) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be 
    legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
        ``(10) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section 
    5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be 
    considered to be numismatic items.''.

SEC. 104. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO CIRCULATION.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by 
sections 102 and 103, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(p) Removal of Barriers to Circulation of $1 Coin.--
        ``(1) Acceptance by agencies and instrumentalities.--Beginning 
    January 1, 2006, all agencies and instrumentalities of the United 
    States, the United States Postal Service, all nonappropriated fund 
    instrumentalities established under title 10, United States Code, 
    all transit systems that receive operational subsidies or any 
    disbursement of funds from the Federal Government, such as funds 
    from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, including the Mass Transit 
    Account, and all entities that operate any business, including 
    vending machines, on any premises owned by the United States or 
    under the control of any agency or instrumentality of the United 
    States, including the legislative and judicial branches of the 
    Federal Government, shall take such action as may be appropriate to 
    ensure that by the end of the 2-year period beginning on such 
    date--
            ``(A) any business operations conducted by any such agency, 
        instrumentality, system, or entity that involve coins or 
        currency will be fully capable of accepting and dispensing $1 
        coins in connection with such operations; and
            ``(B) displays signs and notices denoting such capability 
        on the premises where coins or currency are accepted or 
        dispensed, including on each vending machine.
        ``(2) Publicity.--The Director of the United States Mint, shall 
    work closely with consumer groups, media outlets, and schools to 
    ensure an adequate amount of news coverage, and other means of 
    increasing public awareness, of the inauguration of the 
    Presidential $1 Coin Program established in subsection (n) to 
    ensure that consumers know of the availability of the coin.
        ``(3) Coordination.--The Board of Governors of the Federal 
    Reserve System and the Secretary shall take steps to ensure that an 
    adequate supply of $1 coins is available for commerce and 
    collectors at such places and in such quantities as are appropriate 
    by--
            ``(A) consulting, to accurately gauge demand for coins and 
        to anticipate and eliminate obstacles to the easy and efficient 
        distribution and circulation of $1 coins as well as all other 
        circulating coins, from time to time but no less frequently 
        than annually, with a coin users group, which may include--
                ``(i) representatives of merchants who would benefit 
            from the increased usage of $1 coins;
                ``(ii) vending machine and other coin acceptor 
            manufacturers;
                ``(iii) vending machine owners and operators;
                ``(iv) transit officials;
                ``(v) municipal parking officials;
                ``(vi) depository institutions;
                ``(vii) coin and currency handlers;
                ``(viii) armored-car operators;
                ``(ix) car wash operators; and
                ``(x) coin collectors and dealers;
            ``(B) submitting an annual report to the Congress 
        containing--
                ``(i) an assessment of the remaining obstacles to the 
            efficient and timely circulation of coins, particularly $1 
            coins;
                ``(ii) an assessment of the extent to which the goals 
            of subparagraph (C) are being met; and
                ``(iii) such recommendations for legislative action the 
            Board and the Secretary may determine to be appropriate;
            ``(C) consulting with industry representatives to encourage 
        operators of vending machines and other automated coin-
        accepting devices in the United States to accept coins issued 
        under the Presidential $1 Coin Program established under 
        subsection (n) and any coins bearing any design in effect 
        before the issuance of coins required under subsection (n) 
        (including the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins), and to 
        include notices on the machines and devices of such 
        acceptability;
            ``(D) ensuring that--
                ``(i) during an introductory period, all institutions 
            that want unmixed supplies of each newly-issued design of 
            $1 coins minted under subsections (n) and (o) are able to 
            obtain such unmixed supplies; and
                ``(ii) circulating coins will be available for ordinary 
            commerce in packaging of sizes and types appropriate for 
            and useful to ordinary commerce, including rolled coins;
            ``(E) working closely with any agency, instrumentality, 
        system, or entity referred to in paragraph (1) to facilitate 
        compliance with the requirements of such paragraph; and
            ``(F) identifying, analyzing, and overcoming barriers to 
        the robust circulation of $1 coins minted under subsections (n) 
        and (o), including the use of demand prediction, improved 
        methods of distribution and circulation, and improved public 
        education and awareness campaigns.
        ``(4) Bullion dealers.--The Director of the United States Mint 
    shall take all steps necessary to ensure that a maximum number of 
    reputable, reliable, and responsible dealers are qualified to offer 
    for sale all bullion coins struck and issued by the United States 
    Mint.
        ``(5) Review of co-circulation.--At such time as the Secretary 
    determines to be appropriate, and after consultation with the Board 
    of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Secretary shall 
    notify the Congress of its assessment of issues related to the co-
    circulation of any circulating $1 coin bearing any design, other 
    than the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coin, in effect before the 
    issuance of coins required under subsection (n), including the 
    effect of co-circulation on the acceptance and use of $1 coins, and 
    make recommendations to the Congress for improving the circulation 
    of $1 coins.''.

SEC. 105. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
        (1) the enactment of this Act will serve to increase the use of 
    $1 coins generally, which will increase the circulation of the so-
    called ``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins that have been and will 
    continue to be minted and issued;
        (2) the continued minting and issuance of the so-called 
    ``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins will serve as a lasting tribute to 
    the role of women and Native Americans in the history of the United 
    States;
        (3) the full circulation potential and cost-savings benefit 
    projections for the $1 coins are not likely to be achieved unless 
    the coins are delivered in ways useful to ordinary commerce;
        (4) the coins issued in connection with this title should not 
    be introduced with an overly expensive taxpayer-funded public 
    relations campaign;
        (5) in order for the circulation of $1 coins to achieve maximum 
    potential--
            (A) the coins should be as attractive as possible; and
            (B) the Director of the United States Mint should take all 
        reasonable steps to ensure that all $1 coins minted and issued 
        remain tarnish-free for as long as possible without incurring 
        undue expense; and
        (6) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines to include on 
    any $1 coin minted under section 102 of this Act a mark denoting 
    the United States Mint facility at which the coin was struck, such 
    mark should be edge-incused.

                  TITLE II--BUFFALO GOLD BULLION COINS

SEC. 201. GOLD BULLION COINS.

    Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
        ``(11) A $50 gold coin that is of an appropriate size and 
    thickness, as determined by the Secretary, weighs 1 ounce, and 
    contains 99.99 percent pure gold.''; and
        (2) by adding at the end, the following:
    ``(q) Gold Bullion Coins.--
        ``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
    enactment of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the Secretary 
    shall commence striking and issuing for sale such number of $50 
    gold bullion and proof coins as the Secretary may determine to be 
    appropriate, in such quantities, as the Secretary, in the 
    Secretary's discretion, may prescribe.
        ``(2) Initial design.--
            ``(A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraph 
        (B), the obverse and reverse of the gold bullion coins struck 
        under this subsection during the first year of issuance shall 
        bear the original designs by James Earle Fraser, which appear 
        on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the `Buffalo nickel' 
        or the `1913 Type 1'.
            ``(B) Variations.--The coins referred to in subparagraph 
        (A) shall--
                ``(i) have inscriptions of the weight of the coin and 
            the nominal denomination of the coin incused in that 
            portion of the design on the reverse of the coin commonly 
            known as the `grassy mound'; and
                ``(ii) bear such other inscriptions as the Secretary 
            determines to be appropriate.
        ``(3) Subsequent designs.--After the 1-year period described to 
    in paragraph (2), the Secretary may--
            ``(A) after consulting with the Commission of Fine Arts, 
        and subject to the review of the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
        Committee, change the design on the obverse or reverse of gold 
        bullion coins struck under this subsection; and
            ``(B) change the maximum number of coins issued in any 
        year.
        ``(4) Source of gold bullion.--
            ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the 
        coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined 
        from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory 
        or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the 
        month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
            ``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than 
        the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph 
        (A).
        ``(5) Sale of coins.--Each gold bullion coin issued under this 
    subsection shall be sold for an amount the Secretary determines to 
    be appropriate, but not less than the sum of--
            ``(A) the market value of the bullion at the time of sale; 
        and
            ``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins, 
        including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead 
        expenses, marketing, and shipping.
        ``(6) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be 
    legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
        ``(7) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section 
    5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be 
    considered to be numismatic items.
        ``(8) Protective covering.--
            ``(A) In general.--Each bullion coin having a metallic 
        content as described in subsection (a)(11) and a design 
        specified in paragraph (2) shall be sold in an inexpensive 
        covering that will protect the coin from damage due to ordinary 
        handling or storage.
            ``(B) Design.--The protective covering required under 
        subparagraph (A) shall be readily distinguishable from any coin 
        packaging that may be used to protect proof coins minted and 
        issued under this subsection.''.

      TITLE III--ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL 1-CENT COIN REDESIGN

SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
        (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 (present-day LaRue 
    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. 302. 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. 303. 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. 304. 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. 305. 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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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