[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4107 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4107

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 
                   of the centennial of World War I.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 29, 2012

 Mr. Lamborn (for himself, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Austria, Ms. 
    Norton, and Mr. Latta) 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 centennial of World War I.

    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 ``World War I American Veterans 
Centennial Commemorative Coin Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The year 2017 is the 100th Anniversary of America's 
        entrance into World War I.
            (2) On the 6th of April 1917, the United States of America 
        entered World War I by declaring war against Germany.
            (3) Two million American soldiers served overseas during 
        World War I.
            (4) More than four million men and women from the United 
        States served in uniform during World War I.
            (5) The events of 1914 through 1918 shaped the world and 
        the lives of millions of people for decades.
            (6) Over 9 million soldiers worldwide lost their lives 
        between 1914 and 1918.
            (7) The centennial of America's involvement in World War I 
        offers an opportunity for people in the United States to 
        commemorate the commitment of their predecessors.
            (8) Frank Buckles, the last American veteran from World War 
        I died on February 27, 2011.
            (9) He was our last direct American link to the ``war to 
        end all wars''.
            (10) While other great conflicts, including the Civil War, 
        World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, have all 
        been memorialized on United States commemorative coins, there 
        currently exists no coin to honor the brave veterans of World 
        War I.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to--
            (1) commemorate the centennial of America's involvement in 
        World War I; and
            (2) honor the over 4 million men and women from the United 
        States who served during World War I.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) $1 Silver Coins.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue not 
more than 350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of 
America's involvement in World War I, each of which shall--
            (1) weigh 26.73 grams;
            (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
            (3) 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 centennial of America's 
        involvement in World War I.
            (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 ``2017''; 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 selected by the Secretary based on the winning design from a 
juried, compensated design competition described under subsection (c).
    (c) Design Competition.--The Secretary shall hold a competition and 
provide compensation for its winner to design the obverse and reverse 
of the coins minted under this Act. The competition shall be held in 
the following manner:
            (1) The competition shall be judged by an expert jury 
        chaired by the Secretary and consisting of 3 members from the 
        Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee who shall be elected by 
        such Committee and 3 members from the Commission of Fine Arts 
        who shall be elected by such Commission.
            (2) The Secretary shall determine compensation for the 
        winning design, which shall be not less than $5,000.
            (3) The Secretary may not accept a design for the 
        competition unless a plaster model accompanies the design.

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 one 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 under this 
Act only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2017.

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 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 $10 per 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 World War I Memorial Foundation.
    (c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
have the right to examine such books, records, documents, and other 
data of the World War I Memorial Foundation as may be related to the 
expenditures of amounts paid 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. The Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this 
subsection.
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