[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7152 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7152

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
                             of Mark Twain.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2008

 Mr. Larson of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. Hulshof, Mr. Kuhl of New 
York, Ms. Lee, Mr. Shays, and Mr. Murphy of Connecticut) 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 Mark Twain.

    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 ``Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Samuel Clemens--better known to the world as Mark 
        Twain--was a unique American voice whose literary work has had 
        a lasting effect on our Nation's history and culture.
            (2) Mark Twain remains one of the best known Americans in 
        the world with over 6,500 editions of his books translated into 
        75 languages.
            (3) Mark Twain's literary and educational legacy remains 
        strong even today, with nearly every book he wrote still in 
        print, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of 
        Huckleberry Finn--both of which have never gone out of print 
        since they were first published over a century ago.
            (4) In the past 2 decades alone, there have been more than 
        100 books published and over 250 doctoral dissertations written 
        on Mark Twain's life and work.
            (5) Even today, Americans seek to know more about the life 
        and work of Mark Twain, as people from around the world and 
        across all 50 States annually flock to National Historic 
        Landmarks like the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT 
        and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, MO.
            (6) Mark Twain's work is remembered today for addressing 
        the complex social issues facing America at the turn of the 
        century, including the legacy of the Civil War, race relations, 
        and the economic inequalities of the ``Gilded Age''.
            (7) The year 2010 will mark both the 175th anniversary of 
        Mark Twain's birth and the 125th anniversary of the publication 
        of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--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 section 5134 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 life and legacy of Mark Twain.
            (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 ``2010'' ; 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 Mark Twain House 
        and Museum; 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.--Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may 
be used to strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this 
Act.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2010.

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 issued under this Act shall 
include a surcharge of--
            (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin; and
            (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
    (b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f)(1) 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 as follows:
            (1) \1/2\ of the surcharges, to the Mark Twain House & 
        Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the continued 
        restoration of the Mark Twain house and grounds, and ensure 
        continuing growth and innovation in museum programming to 
        research, promote and educate on the legacy of Mark Twain.
            (2) \1/6\ of the surcharges, to the Mark Twain Project at 
        the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley, 
        California, to support programs to study and promote Mark 
        Twain's legacy.
            (3) \1/6\ of the surcharges, to the Center for Mark Twain 
        Studies at Elmira College, New York, to support programs to 
        study and promote Mark Twain's legacy.
            (4) \1/6\ of the surcharges, to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home 
        and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to preserve historical sites 
        related to Mark Twain and help support programs to study and 
        promote his legacy.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of each of the organizations referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), 
(3), and (4) of subsection (b) as may be related to the expenditures of 
amounts paid under such subsection.
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