112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H.R. 2527
In the Senate of the United
States,
July 12, 2012.
Amendment:
That the bill from the House of Representatives
(H.R. 2527) entitled An Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to
mint coins in recognition and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of
Fame.
, do pass with the following
Strike all after
the enacting clause and insert the
following:
1.This Act may be cited as the ‘National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin
Act’.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)On
June 12, 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum opened in
Cooperstown, New York. Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth,
and Honus Wagner comprised the inaugural class of inductees. This class set the
standard for all future inductees. Since 1939, just one percent of all Major
League Baseball players have earned induction into the National Baseball Hall
of Fame.
(2)The
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is dedicated to preserving history,
honoring excellence, and connecting generations through the rich history of our
national pastime. Baseball has mirrored our Nation's history since the Civil
War, and is now an integral part of our Nation's heritage.
(3)The
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum chronicles the history of our
national pastime and houses the world's largest collection of baseball
artifacts, including more than 38,000 three dimensional artifacts, 3,000,000
documents, 500,000 photographs, and 12,000 hours of recorded media. This
collection ensures that baseball history and its unique connection to American
history will be preserved and recounted for future generations.
(4)Since its opening
in 1939, more than 14,000,000 baseball fans have visited the National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum to learn about the history of our national pastime and
the game's connection to the American experience.
(5)The
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an educational institution,
reaching 10,000,000 Americans annually. Utilizing video conference technology,
students and teachers participate in interactive lessons led by educators from
the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. These award-winning educational
programs draw upon the wonders of baseball to reach students in classrooms
nationwide. Each educational program uses baseball as a lens for teaching young
Americans important lessons on an array of topics, including mathematics,
geography, civil rights, women's history, economics, industrial technology,
arts, and communication.
3.
(a)In
recognition and celebration of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the
Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
Secretary
) shall mint and issue the following coins:
(1)Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which shall—
(A)weigh 8.359
grams;
(B)have diameter of
0.850 inches; and
(C)contain 90
percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
(2)Not more than 400,000 $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.
(3)Not more than 750,000 half-dollar coins which
shall—
(A)weigh 11.34
grams;
(B)have a diameter
of 1.205 inches; and
(C)be minted to the
specifications for half-dollar coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31,
United States Code.
(b)The coins minted under this Act shall be legal tender, as
provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
(c)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.
(d)It is the sense of Congress that, to the extent possible
without significantly adding to the purchase price of the coins, the $1 coins
and $5 coins minted under this Act should be produced in a fashion similar to
the 2009 International Year of Astronomy coins issued by Monnaie de Paris, the
French Mint, so that the reverse of the coin is convex to more closely resemble
a baseball and the obverse concave, providing a more dramatic display of the
obverse design chosen pursuant to section 4(c).
4.
(a)The design for the coins minted under this Act shall
be—
(1)selected by the
Secretary after consultation with—
(A)the National
Baseball Hall of Fame;
(B)the Commission of
Fine Arts; and
(2)reviewed by the
Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee.
(b)Designations
and inscriptionsOn each coin minted under this Act there shall
be—
(1)a
designation of the value of the coin;
(2)an
inscription of the year 2014
; and
(3)inscriptions of
the words Liberty
, In God We Trust
, United
States of America
, and E Pluribus Unum
.
(c)Selection and
approval process for obverse design
(1)The Secretary shall hold a competition to determine the
design of the common obverse of the coins minted under this Act, with such
design being emblematic of the game of baseball.
(2)Proposals for the design of coins minted under this Act
may be submitted in accordance with the design selection and approval process
developed by the Secretary in the sole discretion of the Secretary. The
Secretary shall encourage 3-dimensional models to be submitted as part of the
design proposals.
(3)As
part of the competition described in this subsection, the Secretary may accept
proposals from artists, engravers of the United States Mint, and members of the
general public.
(4)The
Secretary shall determine compensation for the winning design under this
subsection, which shall be not less than $5,000. The Secretary shall take into
account this compensation amount when determining the sale price described in
section 6(a).
(d)The design on the common reverse of the coins minted under
this Act shall depict a baseball similar to those used by Major League
Baseball.
5.
(a)Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in uncirculated
and proof qualities.
(b)The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act only
during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2014.
6.
(a)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, winning design compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and
shipping).
(b)The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins issued
under this Act at a reasonable discount.
(c)
(1)The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders for the coins
minted under this Act before the issuance of such coins.
(2)Sale
prices with respect to prepaid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a
reasonable discount.
7.
(a)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.
(3)A
surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(b)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 National Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance its
operations.
(c)The
National Baseball Hall of Fame shall be subject to the audit requirements of
section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts
received under subsection (b).
(d)Notwithstanding
subsection (a), no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under
this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such
issuance, the issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative
coin programs issued during such year to exceed the annual commemorative coin
program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States
Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of
the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.
8.The Secretary shall
take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that—
(1)minting and
issuing coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the United
States Government; and
(2)no
funds, including applicable surcharges, are disbursed to any recipient
designated in section 7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of
the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, winning design compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and
shipping) is recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with sections
5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.
9.The budgetary
effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory
Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest
statement titled Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation
for this
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the
Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Secretary