[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 19, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H10332-H10333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE FIFTY STATES COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Metcalf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, recently Congress passed the 50 States 
Commemorative Coin Program Act. Let me congratulate the work of past 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary 
Policy, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle). Through his faithful 
work, we have seen this important legislation become law.
  The 50 States Commemorative Coin Act authorizes the Mint to issue 
five new quarters each year for the 10-year period beginning in 1999. 
The coins are issued in the sequence that a particular State ratified 
the Constitution and

[[Page H10333]]

were admitted to the Union. Many of us have already seen the five new 
State quarters minted this year with designs from Delaware, 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. The Act authorizes 
the Secretary of the Treasury to select the design and determine the 
number of quarters to be issued with each of the new designs. The 
statute outlines standards for designs and establishes a selection 
process for each State that includes consultation with State officials, 
the Commission of Fine Arts, and the Citizens Commemorative Coin 
Advisory Committee.
  The new coins also establish a sense of pride in honoring the 50 
States and the heritage they represent. But very importantly, the Act 
is a tool that will help lower the debt of the United States. That is 
right. The U.S. coins from the penny to the dollar actually turn a 
profit. In fact, last year, the Mint returned a profit of over $1 
billion to the taxpayer. This is often an overlooked element that can 
be an important tool to slow the looming public debt of this Nation.
  The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act estimates the 10-year 
coin program for the quarter would produce $110 million in earnings or 
approximately $11 million annually, coming mostly from the coins sold 
as commercial products from the Mint. Frankly, the quarter program is 
already a huge success. In fact, the Mint has dedicated its main phone 
line to answer questions about the quarters and how to order them. Last 
year, the U.S. Mint made 1.6 billion quarters. This year the Mint plans 
to make 5.6 billion, due to the new design.
  Clearly, this $110 million yield expected on the new quarter is a 
significant amount. But the real savings comes in what is called 
seigniorage. Seigniorage is the difference between the face value of 
the coin and the coin's cost of production. The costs include coin 
processing operations, transportation costs and related overhead.
  Specifically, to manufacture a quarter costs around 5 cents to the 
Treasury. Thus, the government is realizing a 20 cent profit per 
quarter put into circulation. Therefore, the anticipated seigniorage 
profit to the Treasury for the new quarters is estimated between $2.6 
billion and $5.1 billion. Let me repeat that again. The anticipated 
profit to the Treasury and ultimately to the taxpayer is $2.6 billion 
to $5.1 billion, depending on how many they make.

                              {time}  1930

  Let us extrapolate for a moment. Next year, the Mint will start 
producing the new gold-colored Sacajawea $1 coin. The seignorage 
accrued from the dollar coin is estimated to be around 85 to 90 cents 
per coin. Imagine, 90 cents profit returned to the taxpayer for every 
dollar coin produced.
  Congress talks a lot about balancing budgets, but with the national 
debt way over $5 trillion maybe it is time we start targeting our new 
profits from coins toward eliminating the cloud of debt that still 
hangs over us. Maybe we can actually find a silver lining and reduce 
the debt for our children.

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