[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2968 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2968

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
           of President James Monroe, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2011

 Mr. Wittman 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 President James Monroe, 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 ``James Monroe Commemorative Coin 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress hereby finds as follows:
            (1) James Monroe was the only United States President 
        besides George Washington to have actively served in the 
        regular military during the Revolutionary War.
            (2) James Monroe--
                    (A) participated in the Battles of Harlem Heights 
                and White Plains;
                    (B) crossed the Delaware River in advance of George 
                Washington;
                    (C) was seriously wounded at the Battle of Trenton 
                and cited for conspicuous gallantry;
                    (D) wintered with the Continental Army at Valley 
                Forge; and
                    (E) subsequently participated in the Battles of 
                Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.
            (3) James Monroe served at the State level in the Virginia 
        House of Delegates and served 4 times as the Governor of 
        Virginia.
            (4) James Monroe served at the national level as a member 
        of the Continental Congress, United States Senator, Minister to 
        France (negotiating the Louisiana Purchase), Minister to Spain, 
        Minister to England, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State 
        (he was the only person to ever hold those 2 posts 
        simultaneously, defending the Nation during the War of 1812), 
        and finally as President of the United States from 1817-1825.
            (5) James Monroe's accomplishments as President included 
        the purchase of Florida, limiting the expansion of slavery, the 
        admission of Maine and Missouri as States, and the promulgation 
        of principles that became known as the ``Monroe Doctrine'' on 
        December 2, 1823, expanding the concept of hemispheric 
        independence beyond the United States--truly making him one of 
        the most important figures in our Nation's history.
            (6) The bicentennial of the election of James Monroe as 
        President will occur in 2016, an election which ushered in what 
        has been known since as the ``Era of Good Feelings''.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--In commemoration of the bicentennial of the 
election of James Monroe to the first of 2 terms as President of the 
United States of America, the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins:
            (1) $50 gold coins.--Not more than 20,000 $50 gold coins 
        which shall--
                    (A) weigh 33.931 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 32.7 millimeters; and
                    (C) contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 275,000 $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) Half dollar clad coins.--Not more than 500,000 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) 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 President James Monroe and his 
        immeasurable contributions to the United States.
            (2) Obverse.--The obverse of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall bear the side profile image of President James Monroe 
        based upon Rembrandt Peale's 1830 portrait which the James 
        Monroe Memorial Foundation donated to The Commonwealth of 
        Virginia in 1964.
            (3) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins minted under this 
        Act shall bear the image of the Monroe birthplace as drawn by 
        the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation based on the 1830 drawing 
        published as an etching.
            (4) Designations 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 ``2016''; 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--
            (1) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation with 
        the James Monroe Memorial Foundation and the Commission of Fine 
        Arts; and
            (2) be 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 Facilities.--For each of the 3 coins minted under this 
Act, at least 1 facility of the United States Mint shall be used to 
strike proof quality coins, while at least 1 other such facility shall 
be used to strike the uncirculated quality coins.
    (c) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted 
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 
2016.

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 $50 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) 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 James Monroe Memorial Foundation for use for the following 
purposes:
            (1) Development of the reconstructed birthplace of the 5th 
        President, associated farm buildings, and a visitor and 
        education center at the James Monroe Birthplace in Westmoreland 
        County, Virginia.
            (2) Continuing support of that facilities described in 
        paragraph (1), including the acquisition of land originally 
        owned by the Monroe Family.
            (3) Supporting education programs about President James 
        Monroe, the Monroe Doctrine, including an online library.
            (4) Collecting and preserving artifacts and historical 
        items related to President Monroe, the Monroe Doctrine, and his 
        era which was known as ``The Era of Good Feelings''.
    (c) Audits.--The James Monroe Memorial Foundation 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 such Foundation 
under subsection (b).
    (d) Limitation.--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 2 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.
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