[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3517 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3517
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and
the Panama Canal.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2012
Mrs. Feinstein (for herself and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of the centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and
the Panama Canal.
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 ``Panama-Pacific International
Exposition and Panama Canal Commemorative Coins Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a
world's fair held in San Francisco, California. The Exposition
ran from February 20 until December 4, 1915.
(2) The Exposition commemorated the completion of the
Panama Canal and the 400th Anniversary of the discovery of the
Pacific Ocean by the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa.
(3) The event was a significant factor in the economic
recovery of San Francisco, which had been nearly destroyed by
an earthquake and subsequent fire in 1906.
(4) President William Howard Taft announced the choice of
San Francisco as location of the Exposition in 1911, and
construction began shortly thereafter.
(5) There were hundreds of buildings on the grounds; most
were built to last only the duration of the Exposition. Every
State then in the Union was represented with a building. Many
nations were represented at the Exposition as well: 22 foreign
governments had buildings. The fair occupied 76 city blocks.
(6) The only building to survive the Exposition, and its
most visible remnant, is the Palace of Fine Arts, which was
designed by noted architect Bernard R. Maybeck.
(7) Congress authorized the United States Mint to issue
five different coins dated 1915 in connection with the Panama-
Pacific International Exposition. The coins represent a high
water mark for American commemorative coins. Produced at the
San Francisco Mint, these were the first United States
commemorative coins to bear the motto ``In God We Trust'', and
included the silver Panama-Pacific half dollar and four gold
coins in denominations of one dollar, 2\1/2\ dollars, a 50-
dollar round coin, and a unique 50-dollar octagonal coin.
(8) The octagonal $50 gold piece was the largest coin
authorized by Congress, and the first minted since 1852 in a
shape other than round.
(9) The Panama Canal, which cuts across the Isthmus of
Panama, was built between 1890 and 1914. It was the world's
greatest engineering feat of its time and required a labor
force of almost 40,000.
(10) While the initial French efforts to build the canal
were disastrous, President Theodore Roosevelt, recognizing the
value of a canal, led the United States in buying the equipment
and concession of the unsuccessful French effort to build the
canal for $40 million, and championed the effort that overcame
malaria and immense logistical problems. The Canal opened on
August 15, 1914--401 years after Balboa first crossed Panama.
(11) Stretching 51 miles, the Panama Canal connected the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, saving sailors a
dangerous 8,000-mile journey around Cape Horn and through the
Straits of Magellan, and cutting in half the time previously
required to sail between the oceans.
(12) The United States should mark the centennial of this
important event in San Francisco and the monumental achievement
of the opening of the Panama Canal.
(13) The proceeds from the surcharge on the sale of such
commemorative coins will assist in supporting the educational
programs of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society and
the preservation of Theodore Roosevelt's home in Oyster Bay,
New York.
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 octagonal gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5
coins, which shall--
(A) be octagonal in shape;
(B) weigh 8.359 grams;
(C) have a distance between two opposing vertices
of 0.850 inches; and
(D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
(2) $5 round gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins,
which shall--
(A) be round in shape;
(B) weigh 8.359 grams;
(C) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
(D) contain 90 percent gold and 10 percent alloy.
(3) $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.
(4) 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 a close likeness of the two gold and one half
dollar coins issued by the San Francisco Mint at the opening of
the Pan-Pacific Exposition and the medal awarded to every
United States citizen who worked for a continuous 2-year period
on the construction of the Panama Canal.
(2) Specific design requirements.--
(A) $5 gold coins.--The $5 octagonal gold coins
minted under this Act and the $5 round gold coins
minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the
octagonal Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin and
the round Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin,
respectively. Such coins--
(i) shall have an obverse depicting the
head of the goddess Minerva, with a Corinthian-
style helmet, enclosed in a ring of beads;
(ii) with a reverse--
(I) depicting an owl perched on a
pine bough complete with four pine
cones and multiple sprigs of pine
needles surrounded by the same ring of
beads depicted on the obverse; and
(II) depicting, outside this ring,
the inscriptions ``PANAMA-PACIFIC
EXPOSITION'' and ``SAN FRANCISCO'' in a
single line of text circling the entire
rim, with the words separated by dots;
and
(iii) with respect to the octagonal coin,
such coin shall also have an obverse and
reverse that depicts, in the eight angles of
the vertices, eight stylized dolphins that form
an outer circle.
(B) $1 silver coins.--The $1 silver coins minted
under this Act shall be designed--
(i) to be a close likeness, in the form of
a coin, of the Roosevelt Medal--
(I) awarded to every United States
citizen who worked for a continuous 2-
year period on the construction of the
Panama Canal;
(II) issued as a result of an
Executive Order dated June 23, 1907, by
President Theodore Roosevelt;
(III) designed by artist F.D.
Millet; and
(IV) struck by the United States
Mint in Philadelphia;
(ii) with an obverse depicting the image of
President Theodore Roosevelt; and
(iii) with a reverse--
(I) depicting the Culebra Cut, a 9-
mile, 272-foot-deep excavation through
the Cordillera Mountains;
(II) displaying the Canal Zone
motto ``THE LAND DIVIDED, THE WORLD
UNITED'' inscribed on the horizon; and
(III) displaying the legend
``PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES'' around the border,
except that the Secretary may, after
consultation with the Commission of
Fine Arts and review by the Citizens
Coinage Advisory Committee, choose to
omit such legend.
(C) Half dollar clad coins.--The half dollar clad
coins minted under this Act shall be designed--
(i) to be a close likeness of the 1915
Panama Pacific Exposition half dollar coin;
(ii) with an obverse depicting Columbia
scattering flowers from a cornucopia held by a
small child towards a sunset on the Golden Gate
(prior to the construction of the now famous
bridge), which was designed by the Mint's then-
Chief Engraver, Charles Barber; and
(iii) with a reverse depicting an eagle
resting on the union shield with an oak branch
to its left, for stability and strength, and an
olive branch to its right, for peace, credited
to Barber's assistant George T. Morgan,
designer of the Morgan dollar.
(3) 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--
(i) depicted in Roman numerals (``MMXV''),
in the case of the $5 and half dollar coins;
and
(ii) ``2015'', in the case of the $1 coins;
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
(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,
2015.
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;
(2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin; and
(3) $5 per coin for the half dollar 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) Three-quarters of the surcharges to the San Francisco
Museum and Historical Society for the design and construction
of appropriate exhibitions in the San Francisco Museum and
Historical Society, including the necessary adaptive reuse of
the Old Mint, commemorating the Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, as well as the development of appropriate
exhibitions at the Palace of Fine Arts on the grounds of the
former Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
(2) One-fourth of the surcharges to the National Park
Foundation to be used for programs, construction, or
preservation work at President Theodore Roosevelt's home in
Oyster Bay, New York.
(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 subsection (b) as may
be related to the expenditures of amounts paid under such subsection.
(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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