[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1047 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.1047
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration
of each of the Nation's past Presidents and their spouses, respectively,
to improve circulation of the $1 coin, to create a new bullion coin, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005''.
TITLE I--PRESIDENTIAL $1 COINS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) There are sectors of the United States economy, including
public transportation, parking meters, vending machines, and low-
dollar value transactions, in which the use of a $1 coin is both
useful and desirable for keeping costs and prices down.
(2) For a variety of reasons, the new $1 coin introduced in
2000 has not been widely sought-after by the public, leading to
higher costs for merchants and thus higher prices for consumers.
(3) The success of the 50 States Commemorative Coin Program (31
U.S.C. 5112(l)) for circulating quarter dollars shows that a design
on a United States circulating coin that is regularly changed in a
manner similar to the systematic change in designs in such Program
radically increases demand for the coin, rapidly pulling it through
the economy.
(4) The 50 States Commemorative Coin Program also has been an
educational tool, teaching both Americans and visitors something
about each State for which a quarter has been issued.
(5) A national survey and study by the Government
Accountability Office has indicated that many Americans who do not
seek, or who reject, the new $1 coin for use in commerce would
actively seek the coin if an attractive, educational rotating
design were to be struck on the coin.
(6) The President is the leader of our tripartite government
and the President's spouse has often set the social tone for the
White House while spearheading and highlighting important issues
for the country.
(7) Sacagawea, as currently represented on the new $1 coin, is
an important symbol of American history.
(8) Many people cannot name all of the Presidents, and fewer
can name the spouses, nor can many people accurately place each
President in the proper time period of American history.
(9) First Spouses have not generally been recognized on
American coinage.
(10) In order to revitalize the design of United States coinage
and return circulating coinage to its position as not only a
necessary means of exchange in commerce, but also as an object of
aesthetic beauty in its own right, it is appropriate to move many
of the mottos and emblems, the inscription of the year, and the so-
called ``mint marks'' that currently appear on the 2 faces of each
circulating coin to the edge of the coin, which would allow larger
and more dramatic artwork on the coins reminiscent of the so-called
``Golden Age of Coinage'' in the United States, at the beginning of
the Twentieth Century, initiated by President Theodore Roosevelt,
with the assistance of noted sculptors and medallic artists James
Earle Fraser and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
(11) Placing inscriptions on the edge of coins, known as edge-
incusing, is a hallmark of modern coinage and is common in large-
volume production of coinage elsewhere in the world, such as the
2,700,000,000 2-Euro coins in circulation, but it has not been done
on a large scale in United States coinage in recent years.
(12) Although the Congress has authorized the Secretary of the
Treasury to issue gold coins with a purity of 99.99 percent, the
Secretary has not done so.
(13) Bullion coins are a valuable tool for the investor and, in
some cases, an important aspect of coin collecting.
SEC. 102. PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN PROGRAM.
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(n) Redesign and Issuance of Circulating $1 Coins Honoring Each
of the Presidents of the United States.--
``(1) Redesign beginning in 2007.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (d) and in
accordance with the provisions of this subsection, $1 coins
issued during the period beginning January 1, 2007, and ending
upon the termination of the program under paragraph (8),
shall--
``(i) have designs on the obverse selected in
accordance with paragraph (2)(B) which are emblematic of
the Presidents of the United States; and
``(ii) have a design on the reverse selected in
accordance with paragraph (2)(A).
``(B) Continuity provisions.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A),
the Secretary shall continue to mint and issue $1 coins
which bear any design in effect before the issuance of
coins as required under this subsection (including the so-
called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins).
``(ii) Circulation quantity.--Beginning January 1,
2007, and ending upon the termination of the program under
paragraph (8), the Secretary annually shall mint and issue
such `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins for circulation in
quantities of no less than \1/3\ of the total $1 coins
minted and issued under this subsection.''.
``(2) Design requirements.--The $1 coins issued in accordance
with paragraph (1)(A) shall meet the following design requirements:
``(A) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse shall bear--
``(i) a likeness of the Statue of Liberty extending to
the rim of the coin and large enough to provide a dramatic
representation of Liberty while not being large enough to
create the impression of a `2-headed' coin;
``(ii) the inscription `$1'; and
``(iii) the inscription `United States of America'.
``(B) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse shall
contain--
``(i) the name and likeness of a President of the
United States; and
``(ii) basic information about the President,
including--
``(I) the dates or years of the term of office of
such President; and
``(II) a number indicating the order of the period
of service in which the President served.
``(C) Edge-incused inscriptions.--
``(i) In general.--The inscription of the year of
minting or issuance of the coin and the inscriptions `E
Pluribus Unum' and `In God We Trust' shall be edge-incused
into the coin.
``(ii) Preservation of distinctive edge.--The edge-
incusing of the inscriptions under clause (i) on coins
issued under this subsection shall be done in a manner that
preserves the distinctive edge of the coin so that the
denomination of the coin is readily discernible, including
by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
``(D) Inscriptions of `liberty'.--Notwithstanding the
second sentence of subsection (d)(1), because the use of a
design bearing the likeness of the Statue of Liberty on the
reverse of the coins issued under this subsection adequately
conveys the concept of Liberty, the inscription of `Liberty'
shall not appear on the coins.
``(E) Limitation in series to deceased presidents.--No coin
issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living
former or current President, or of any deceased former
President during the 2-year period following the date of the
death of that President.
``(3) Issuance of coins commemorating presidents.--
``(A) Order of issuance.--The coins issued under this
subsection commemorating Presidents of the United States shall
be issued in the order of the period of service of each
President, beginning with President George Washington.
``(B) Treatment of period of service.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), only 1 coin
design shall be issued for a period of service for any
President, no matter how many consecutive terms of office
the President served.
``(ii) Nonconsecutive terms.--If a President has served
during 2 or more nonconsecutive periods of service, a coin
shall be issued under this subsection for each such
nonconsecutive period of service.
``(4) Issuance of coins commemorating 4 presidents during each
year of the period.--
``(A) In general.--The designs for the $1 coins issued
during each year of the period referred to in paragraph (1)
shall be emblematic of 4 Presidents until each President has
been so honored, subject to paragraph (2)(E).
``(B) Number of 4 circulating coin designs in each year.--
The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of such factors as
the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the number of $1
coins that shall be issued with each of the designs selected
for each year of the period referred to in paragraph (1).
``(5) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be
legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
``(6) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section
5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
``(7) Issuance of numismatic coins.--The Secretary may mint and
issue such number of $1 coins of each design selected under this
subsection in uncirculated and proof qualities as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
``(8) Termination of program.--The issuance of coins under this
subsection shall terminate when each President has been so honored,
subject to paragraph (2)(E), and may not be resumed except by an
Act of Congress.
``(9) Reversion to preceding design.--Upon the termination of
the issuance of coins under this subsection, the design of all $1
coins shall revert to the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins.''.
SEC. 103. FIRST SPOUSE BULLION COIN PROGRAM.
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by section
102, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(o) First Spouse Bullion Coin Program.--
``(1) In general.--During the same period described in
subsection (n), the Secretary shall issue bullion coins under this
subsection that are emblematic of the spouse of each such
President.
``(2) Specifications.--The coins issued under this subsection
shall--
``(A) have the same diameter as the $1 coins described in
subsection (n);
``(B) weigh 0.5 ounce; and
``(C) contain 99.99 percent pure gold.
``(3) Design requirements.--
``(A) Coin obverse.--The design on the obverse of each coin
issued under this subsection shall contain--
``(i) the name and likeness of a person who was a
spouse of a President during the President's period of
service;
``(ii) an inscription of the years during which such
person was the spouse of a President during the President's
period of service; and
``(iii) a number indicating the order of the period of
service in which such President served.
``(B) Coin reverse.--The design on the reverse of each coin
issued under this subsection shall bear--
``(i) images emblematic of the life and work of the
First Spouse whose image is borne on the obverse; and
``(ii) the inscription `United States of America'.
``(C) Designated denomination.--Each coin issued under this
subsection shall bear, on the reverse, an inscription of the
nominal denomination of the coin which shall be `$10'.
``(D) Design in case of no first spouse.--In the case of
any President who served without a spouse--
``(i) the image on the obverse of the bullion coin
corresponding to the $1 coin relating to such President
shall be an image emblematic of the concept of `Liberty'--
``(I) as represented on a United States coin issued
during the period of service of such President; or
``(II) as represented, in the case of President
Chester Alan Arthur, by a design incorporating the name
and likeness of Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the
suffrage movement, who was instrumental in gaining
women the right to vote upon the adoption of the 19th
amendment and thus the ability to participate in the
election of future Presidents, and who was born on
January 11, 1885, during the term of President Arthur;
and
``(ii) the reverse of such bullion coin shall be of a
design representative of themes of such President, except
that in the case of the bullion coin referred to in clause
(i)(II) the reverse of such coin shall be representative of
the suffrage movement.
``(E) Design and coin for each spouse.--A separate coin
shall be designed and issued under this section for each person
who was the spouse of a President during any portion of a term
of office of such President.
``(F) Inscriptions.--Each bullion coin issued under this
subsection shall bear the inscription of the year of minting or
issuance of the coin and such other inscriptions as the
Secretary may determine to be appropriate.
``(4) Sale of bullion coins.--Each bullion coin issued under
this subsection shall be sold by the Secretary at a price that is
equal to or greater than the sum of--
``(A) the face value of the coins; and
``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead
expenses, marketing, and shipping).
``(5) Issuance of coins commemorating first spouses.--
``(A) In general.--The bullion coins issued under this
subsection with respect to any spouse of a President shall be
issued on the same schedule as the $1 coin issued under
subsection (n) with respect to each such President.
``(B) Maximum number of bullion coins for each design.--The
Secretary shall--
``(i) prescribe, on the basis of such factors as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, the maximum number
of bullion coins that shall be issued with each of the
designs selected under this subsection; and
``(ii) announce, before the issuance of the bullion
coins of each such design, the maximum number of bullion
coins of that design that will be issued.
``(C) Termination of program.--No bullion coin may be
issued under this subsection after the termination, in
accordance with subsection (n)(8), of the $1 coin program
established under subsection (n).
``(6) Quality of coins.--The bullion coins minted under this
Act shall be issued in both proof and uncirculated qualities.
``(7) Source of gold bullion.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the
coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined
from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory
or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the
month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than
the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph
(A).
``(8) Bronze medals.--The Secretary may strike and sell bronze
medals that bear the likeness of the bullion coins authorized under
this subsection, at a price, size, and weight, and with such
inscriptions, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(9) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be
legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
``(10) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section
5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be
considered to be numismatic items.''.
SEC. 104. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO CIRCULATION.
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, as amended by
sections 102 and 103, by adding at the end the following:
``(p) Removal of Barriers to Circulation of $1 Coin.--
``(1) Acceptance by agencies and instrumentalities.--Beginning
January 1, 2006, all agencies and instrumentalities of the United
States, the United States Postal Service, all nonappropriated fund
instrumentalities established under title 10, United States Code,
all transit systems that receive operational subsidies or any
disbursement of funds from the Federal Government, such as funds
from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, including the Mass Transit
Account, and all entities that operate any business, including
vending machines, on any premises owned by the United States or
under the control of any agency or instrumentality of the United
States, including the legislative and judicial branches of the
Federal Government, shall take such action as may be appropriate to
ensure that by the end of the 2-year period beginning on such
date--
``(A) any business operations conducted by any such agency,
instrumentality, system, or entity that involve coins or
currency will be fully capable of accepting and dispensing $1
coins in connection with such operations; and
``(B) displays signs and notices denoting such capability
on the premises where coins or currency are accepted or
dispensed, including on each vending machine.
``(2) Publicity.--The Director of the United States Mint, shall
work closely with consumer groups, media outlets, and schools to
ensure an adequate amount of news coverage, and other means of
increasing public awareness, of the inauguration of the
Presidential $1 Coin Program established in subsection (n) to
ensure that consumers know of the availability of the coin.
``(3) Coordination.--The Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System and the Secretary shall take steps to ensure that an
adequate supply of $1 coins is available for commerce and
collectors at such places and in such quantities as are appropriate
by--
``(A) consulting, to accurately gauge demand for coins and
to anticipate and eliminate obstacles to the easy and efficient
distribution and circulation of $1 coins as well as all other
circulating coins, from time to time but no less frequently
than annually, with a coin users group, which may include--
``(i) representatives of merchants who would benefit
from the increased usage of $1 coins;
``(ii) vending machine and other coin acceptor
manufacturers;
``(iii) vending machine owners and operators;
``(iv) transit officials;
``(v) municipal parking officials;
``(vi) depository institutions;
``(vii) coin and currency handlers;
``(viii) armored-car operators;
``(ix) car wash operators; and
``(x) coin collectors and dealers;
``(B) submitting an annual report to the Congress
containing--
``(i) an assessment of the remaining obstacles to the
efficient and timely circulation of coins, particularly $1
coins;
``(ii) an assessment of the extent to which the goals
of subparagraph (C) are being met; and
``(iii) such recommendations for legislative action the
Board and the Secretary may determine to be appropriate;
``(C) consulting with industry representatives to encourage
operators of vending machines and other automated coin-
accepting devices in the United States to accept coins issued
under the Presidential $1 Coin Program established under
subsection (n) and any coins bearing any design in effect
before the issuance of coins required under subsection (n)
(including the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coins), and to
include notices on the machines and devices of such
acceptability;
``(D) ensuring that--
``(i) during an introductory period, all institutions
that want unmixed supplies of each newly-issued design of
$1 coins minted under subsections (n) and (o) are able to
obtain such unmixed supplies; and
``(ii) circulating coins will be available for ordinary
commerce in packaging of sizes and types appropriate for
and useful to ordinary commerce, including rolled coins;
``(E) working closely with any agency, instrumentality,
system, or entity referred to in paragraph (1) to facilitate
compliance with the requirements of such paragraph; and
``(F) identifying, analyzing, and overcoming barriers to
the robust circulation of $1 coins minted under subsections (n)
and (o), including the use of demand prediction, improved
methods of distribution and circulation, and improved public
education and awareness campaigns.
``(4) Bullion dealers.--The Director of the United States Mint
shall take all steps necessary to ensure that a maximum number of
reputable, reliable, and responsible dealers are qualified to offer
for sale all bullion coins struck and issued by the United States
Mint.
``(5) Review of co-circulation.--At such time as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, and after consultation with the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Secretary shall
notify the Congress of its assessment of issues related to the co-
circulation of any circulating $1 coin bearing any design, other
than the so-called `Sacagawea-design' $1 coin, in effect before the
issuance of coins required under subsection (n), including the
effect of co-circulation on the acceptance and use of $1 coins, and
make recommendations to the Congress for improving the circulation
of $1 coins.''.
SEC. 105. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the enactment of this Act will serve to increase the use of
$1 coins generally, which will increase the circulation of the so-
called ``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins that have been and will
continue to be minted and issued;
(2) the continued minting and issuance of the so-called
``Sacagawea-design'' $1 coins will serve as a lasting tribute to
the role of women and Native Americans in the history of the United
States;
(3) the full circulation potential and cost-savings benefit
projections for the $1 coins are not likely to be achieved unless
the coins are delivered in ways useful to ordinary commerce;
(4) the coins issued in connection with this title should not
be introduced with an overly expensive taxpayer-funded public
relations campaign;
(5) in order for the circulation of $1 coins to achieve maximum
potential--
(A) the coins should be as attractive as possible; and
(B) the Director of the United States Mint should take all
reasonable steps to ensure that all $1 coins minted and issued
remain tarnish-free for as long as possible without incurring
undue expense; and
(6) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines to include on
any $1 coin minted under section 102 of this Act a mark denoting
the United States Mint facility at which the coin was struck, such
mark should be edge-incused.
TITLE II--BUFFALO GOLD BULLION COINS
SEC. 201. GOLD BULLION COINS.
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(11) A $50 gold coin that is of an appropriate size and
thickness, as determined by the Secretary, weighs 1 ounce, and
contains 99.99 percent pure gold.''; and
(2) by adding at the end, the following:
``(q) Gold Bullion Coins.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, the Secretary
shall commence striking and issuing for sale such number of $50
gold bullion and proof coins as the Secretary may determine to be
appropriate, in such quantities, as the Secretary, in the
Secretary's discretion, may prescribe.
``(2) Initial design.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraph
(B), the obverse and reverse of the gold bullion coins struck
under this subsection during the first year of issuance shall
bear the original designs by James Earle Fraser, which appear
on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the `Buffalo nickel'
or the `1913 Type 1'.
``(B) Variations.--The coins referred to in subparagraph
(A) shall--
``(i) have inscriptions of the weight of the coin and
the nominal denomination of the coin incused in that
portion of the design on the reverse of the coin commonly
known as the `grassy mound'; and
``(ii) bear such other inscriptions as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
``(3) Subsequent designs.--After the 1-year period described to
in paragraph (2), the Secretary may--
``(A) after consulting with the Commission of Fine Arts,
and subject to the review of the Citizens Coinage Advisory
Committee, change the design on the obverse or reverse of gold
bullion coins struck under this subsection; and
``(B) change the maximum number of coins issued in any
year.
``(4) Source of gold bullion.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall acquire gold for the
coins issued under this subsection by purchase of gold mined
from natural deposits in the United States, or in a territory
or possession of the United States, within 1 year after the
month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined.
``(B) Price of gold.--The Secretary shall pay not more than
the average world price for the gold mined under subparagraph
(A).
``(5) Sale of coins.--Each gold bullion coin issued under this
subsection shall be sold for an amount the Secretary determines to
be appropriate, but not less than the sum of--
``(A) the market value of the bullion at the time of sale;
and
``(B) the cost of designing and issuing the coins,
including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead
expenses, marketing, and shipping.
``(6) Legal tender.--The coins minted under this title shall be
legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
``(7) Treatment as numismatic items.--For purposes of section
5134 and 5136, all coins minted under this subsection shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
``(8) Protective covering.--
``(A) In general.--Each bullion coin having a metallic
content as described in subsection (a)(11) and a design
specified in paragraph (2) shall be sold in an inexpensive
covering that will protect the coin from damage due to ordinary
handling or storage.
``(B) Design.--The protective covering required under
subparagraph (A) shall be readily distinguishable from any coin
packaging that may be used to protect proof coins minted and
issued under this subsection.''.
TITLE III--ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIAL 1-CENT COIN REDESIGN
SEC. 301. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, was one of the
Nation's greatest leaders, demonstrating true courage during the
Civil War, one of the greatest crises in the Nation's history.
(2) Born of humble roots in Hardin County (present-day LaRue
County), Kentucky, on February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln rose to
the Presidency through a combination of honesty, integrity,
intelligence, and commitment to the United States.
(3) With the belief that all men are created equal, Abraham
Lincoln led the effort to free all slaves in the United States.
(4) Abraham Lincoln had a generous heart, with malice toward
none, and with charity for all.
(5) Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country
he loved, dying from an assassin's bullet on April 15, 1865.
(6) All Americans could benefit from studying the life of
Abraham Lincoln, for Lincoln's life is a model for accomplishing
the ``American dream'' through honesty, integrity, loyalty, and a
lifetime of education.
(7) The year 2009 will be the bicentennial anniversary of the
birth of Abraham Lincoln.
(8) Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew to adulthood in
Indiana, achieved fame in Illinois, and led the nation in
Washington, D.C.
(9) The so-called ``Lincoln cent'' was introduced in 1909 on
the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, making the obverse design
the most enduring on the nation's coinage.
(10) President Theodore Roosevelt was so impressed by the
talent of Victor David Brenner that the sculptor was chosen to
design the likeness of President Lincoln for the coin, adapting a
design from a plaque Brenner had prepared earlier.
(11) In the nearly 100 years of production of the ``Lincoln
cent'', there have been only 2 designs on the reverse: the
original, featuring 2 wheat-heads in memorial style enclosing
mottoes, and the current representation of the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
(12) On the occasion of the bicentennial of President Lincoln's
birth and the 100th anniversary of the production of the Lincoln
cent, it is entirely fitting to issue a series of 1-cent coins with
designs on the reverse that are emblematic of the 4 major periods
of President Lincoln's life.
SEC. 302. REDESIGN OF LINCOLN CENT FOR 2009.
(a) In General.--During the year 2009, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in accordance with the following
design specifications:
(1) Obverse.--The obverse of the 1-cent coin shall continue to
bear the Victor David Brenner likeness of President Abraham
Lincoln.
(2) Reverse.--The reverse of the coins shall bear 4 different
designs each representing a different aspect of the life of Abraham
Lincoln, such as--
(A) his birth and early childhood in Kentucky;
(B) his formative years in Indiana;
(C) his professional life in Illinois; and
(D) his presidency, in Washington, D.C.
(b) Issuance of Redesigned Lincoln Cents in 2009.--
(1) Order.--The 1-cent coins to which this section applies
shall be issued with 1 of the 4 designs referred to in subsection
(a)(2) beginning at the start of each calendar quarter of 2009.
(2) Number.--The Secretary shall prescribe, on the basis of
such factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the
number of 1-cent coins that shall be issued with each of the
designs selected for each calendar quarter of 2009.
(c) Design Selection.--The designs for the coins specified in this
section shall be chosen by the Secretary--
(1) after consultation with the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) after review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
SEC. 303. REDESIGN OF REVERSE OF 1-CENT COINS AFTER 2009.
The design on the reverse of the 1-cent coins issued after December
31, 2009, shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln's
preservation of the United States of America as a single and united
country.
SEC. 304. NUMISMATIC PENNIES WITH THE SAME METALLIC CONTENT AS THE 1909
PENNY.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue 1-cent coins in 2009 with
the exact metallic content as the 1-cent coin contained in 1909 in such
number as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for numismatic
purposes.
SEC. 305. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the original Victor David
Brenner design for the 1-cent coin was a dramatic departure from
previous American coinage that should be reproduced, using the original
form and relief of the likeness of Abraham Lincoln, on the 1-cent coins
issued in 2009.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.