1.This Act may be cited as the
Mark Twain Commemorative Coin
Act
.
2.The Congress finds the following:
(1)Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain,
was a unique American voice whose literary work has had a lasting effect on the
history and culture of the United States.
(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)The literary and
educational legacy of Mark Twain remains strong. Nearly every book he wrote is
still in print, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, neither of which has gone out of print since it was first
published, more than a century ago.
(4)In the past 2
decades alone, there have been more than 100 books published and more than 250
doctoral dissertations written on the life and work of Mark Twain.
(5)Even today, people in the United States
seek to know more about the life and work of Mark Twain. People from around the
world and all 50 States visit national historic landmarks like the Mark Twain
House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and
Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.
(6)The work of Mark
Twain is remembered for addressing the complex social issues facing the United
States at the turn of the century, including the legacy of the Civil War, race
relations, and the economic inequalities of the so-called Gilded
Age.
3.
(a)The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in
this Act referred to as the Secretary) shall mint and issue the
following coins in commemoration of Mark Twain:
(1)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)Not more than 350,000 $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)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 section 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United
States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be
numismatic items.
4.
(a)
(1)The design of the
coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark
Twain.
(2)Designation and
inscriptionsOn 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)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 in Hartford, Connecticut; and
(2)reviewed by the
Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
5.
(a)Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in uncirculated
and proof qualities.
(b)Only 1 facility of the United States Mint may be used to
strike any particular quality of the coins minted under this Act.
(c)The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act only
during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2016.
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, 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 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)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)One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid
to the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the
restoration of the Mark Twain house and grounds and to ensure growth and
innovation in museum programming to research, promote, and educate on the
legacy of Mark Twain.
(2)One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid
to the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of the University of
California, Berkeley, California, to support programs to study and promote the
legacy of Mark Twain.
(3)One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid
to the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York, to support
programs to study and promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
(4)One-fourth of the surcharges shall be paid
to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to preserve
historical sites relating to Mark Twain and to support programs to study and
promote the legacy of Mark Twain.
(c)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 subsection (b) as may be related to the expenditures of amounts paid
under that subsection.
(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 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.