Army Commemorative Coin Act signed
Arizona Coin Collector
On the story below. You will find the final version
of the bill (H.R.5714), below the story. It is the
version that President George W. Bush just signed
into law.
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FROM:
http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/patriot/article/army_commemorative_coin_act_signed/27286/
Inside Nova Dot Com
Monday, January 5, 2009
Army Commemorative Coin Act signed
By NICK RHINEHART Army News Service
Published: January 5, 2009
President George W. Bush has signed into law the "United
States Army Commemorative Coin Act of 2008," authorizing
the creation of a series of commemorative coins to
recognize and celebrate the establishment of the United
States Army in 1775, and to honor the service and
sacrifice of American soldiers of both past and present,
in wartime and in peace.
These will be the first U.S. coins ever issued to celebrate
and honor the Army and its 234-year heritage. The U.S. Mint
will work on six coin designs, front and back with the Army
Historical Foundation. Coins will be minted and sold during
2011 and come in a $5 gold piece, a silver dollar and a
copper-clad half dollar. An estimated $10-$12 million of
the sales revenues will help fund the National Museum of
the United States Army slated for construction at Fort
Belvoir.
"The Commemorative Coin Act will help raise the revenue
needed to build a museum dedicated to the men and women
who have for so long protected the sovereignty and
freedom of our country," said Senator James M. Inhofe of
Oklahoma. "The museum will serve to commemorate the
enormous sacrifice of our soldiers and will be a symbol
of the Army's dedication to the fight for freedom."
Designated in 2000 as the Army's primary partner in
building the museum, the Army Historical Foundation
led the drive to establish the Army Commemorative Coins.
"Passage of the commemorative coin legislation has been
the only legislative priority of the Army Historical
Foundation over the past twelve months, and we are
very pleased to announce the success of this initiative,"
said retired Brig. Gen. Creighton W. Abrams AHF
executive director. "These coins will be beautiful
mementos of past service for veterans, and will make
appropriate gifts for retired veterans and currently
serving soldiers alike,"
Nick Rhinehart writes for the Army Historical
Foundation.
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FROM: The Library Of Congress - Thomas
H.R.5714
One Hundred Tenth Congress of the United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eight.
An Act
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in
recognition and celebration of the establishment of the
United States Army in 1775, to honor the American soldier
of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in peace,
and to commemorate the traditions, history, and heritage
of the United States Army and its role in American
society, from the Colonial period to today.
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 `United States Army
Commemorative Coin Act of 2008'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the United States Army, founded in 1775, has served
this country well for over 230 years;
(2) the United States Army has played a decisive role in
protecting and defending freedom throughout the history
of the United States, from the Colonial period to today,
in wartime and in peace, and has consistently answered
the call to serve the American people at home and abroad
since the Revolutionary War;
(3) the sacrifice of the American soldier, of all ranks,
since the earliest days of the Republic has been immense
and is deserving of the unique recognition bestowed by
commemorative coinage;
(4) the Army, the Nation's oldest and largest military
service, is the only service branch that currently does
not have a comprehensive national museum celebrating,
preserving, and displaying its heritage and honoring its
veterans;
(5) the National Museum of the United States Army will be--
(A) the Army's only service-wide, national museum
honoring all soldiers, of all ranks, in all branches
since 1775; and
(B) located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, across the Potomac
River from the Nation's Capitol, a 10-minute drive from
Mount Vernon, the home of the Army's first
Commander-in-Chief, and astride the Civil War's decisive
Washington-Richmond corridor;
(6) the Army Historical Foundation (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the `Foundation'), founded in 1983--
(A) is dedicated to preserving the history and heritage
of the American soldier; and
(B) seeks to educate future Americans to fully appreciate
the sacrifices that generations of American soldiers have
made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation;
(7) the completion and opening to the public of the National
Museum of the United States Army will immeasurably help in
fulfilling that mission;
(8) the Foundation is a nongovernmental, member-based, and
publicly supported nonprofit organization that is dependent
on funds from members, donations, and grants for support;
(9) the Foundation uses such support to help create the
National Museum of the United States Army, refurbish
historical Army buildings, acquire and conserve Army
historical art and artifacts, support Army history
educational programs, for research, and publication of
historical materials on the American soldier, and to
provide support and counsel to private and governmental
organizations committed to the same goals as the Foundation;
(10) in 2000, the Secretary of the Army designated the
Foundation as its primary partner in the building of the
National Museum of the United States Army; and
(11) the Foundation is actively engaged in executing a
major capital campaign to support the National Museum of
the United States Army.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations- In recognition and celebration of the
founding of the United States Army in 1775, and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as
the `Secretary') shall mint and issue the following coins:
(1) $5 GOLD COINS- 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) $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.
(3) HALF DOLLAR CLAD COINS- Not more than 750,000 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 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 traditions, history, and
heritage of the United States Army, and its role in
American society from the Colonial period to today.
(2) 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 `2011'; 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) contain motifs that specifically honor the American
soldier of both today and yesterday, in wartime and in
peace, such designs to be consistent with the traditions
and heritage of the United States Army, the mission and
goals of the National Museum of the United States Army,
and the missions and goals of the Foundation;
(2) be selected by the Secretary, after consultation
with the Secretary of the Army, the Foundation, and the
Commission of Fine Arts; and
(3) 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, 2011.
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 $5 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 Foundation
to help finance the National Museum of the United States
Army.
(c) Audits- The 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 the
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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
END
..
mazorj
"Arizona Coin Collector" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:UpmdnYvKAt9g-__U...@earthlink.com...
> Hello
>
> On the story below. You will find the final version
> of the bill (H.R.5714), below the story. It is the
> version that President George W. Bush just signed
> into law.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
> FROM:
> http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/patriot/article/army_commemorative_coin_act_signed/27286/
>
> Inside Nova Dot Com
>
> Monday, January 5, 2009
>
> Army Commemorative Coin Act signed
A worthy undertaking but we all would be better served if they did
this by minting commemorative medals rather than continuing to
mongrelize our circulating coinage.
Jon Purkey
They've already done medals for the military bicentennials:
mazorj
"Jon Purkey" <room32...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:d9d5m4t1li6ns4e3l...@4ax.com...
Right. I gave the Coast Guard one as a token gift to my neighbor, who
is relatively high up in the command. You'd think I had given him an
1804 silver dollar the way he reacted with appreciation. There's no
reason why all such military commemoratives can't be channeled into
medals rather than coins. Or stamps - the USPO enshrines everything
from cartoons to entertainers to minor public service celebrities on
its stamp issues. A few more for the military would hardly strain
their output.
Around and around she goes... whatever coin the Army gets, you can be
sure that the other services won't rest until they get their own
versions. At the least, If you must have a coin recognizing the
armed services, roll them all together into one issue.
Bruce Remick
"mazorj" <maz...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:FWH8l.3481$BC4....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
The 2002 West Point Military Academy commemorative $1 was supposed to be a
sure fire barn-burner, what with all the Army soldiers and vets out there.
Whatever excitement there was may have lasted a month or two and then the
coin quietly took a place among the rest of its commem siblings as things
only coin collectors might be interested in. Ditto with the more recent
Marine Corps 230th Anniversary piece. The only way to keep subjects like
these in peoples' minds is to produce a circulating coin with the subject
featured on it. Otherwise, potential non-collector buyers won't even know a
commemorative coin exists.