In the middle of July 2019, quietly, without headlines or fanfare, two members of opposing parties introduced a Bill. When was the last time a Democrat and Republican agreed upon anything in this country?
As Schoolhouse Rock educated us in the late 1970s, “it’s a long, long wait while I’m sitting in committee but I know I’ll be a law someday, at least I hope and pray that I will, but today I am still just a bill.”
Too little, too late? To refresh, a bill is introduced to Congress and then must be considered by a committee before it is possibly sent on to the House and Senate for voting. Once it passes, it has to be signed into law by the President.
So what’s this bill about? Well, H.R. 3757: 1921 Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin Act proposes to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the minting of the Morgan dollar and the Peace dollar. What a great idea!
As coin enthusiasts know, in 1921, the Mint revived the Morgan Silver Dollar after a 17-year gap only to be replaced the same year with the Peace Silver Dollar. Ironically, it was numismatists who rallied back in 1921 to lobby the Mint to issue a coin that memorialized the peace following World War I. And even though they failed to get Congress to pass a bill requiring the redesign, they were able to persuade government officials to take action. Will lightning strike twice? I doubt it. Getting any politician to agree to anything, especially something presented by such a genteel crowd, like numismatists, would be something short of miraculous.
Can you say grassroots effort? Who’s behind this bill anyway? Well, several years ago, Michael Moran, numismatic author and researcher who has served on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) proposed the idea of a 2021 Peace Dollar to commemorative the 100th anniversary of the first Peace Silver Dollar. Thomas Uram, the current chair of the CCAC agreed, but also felt they should commemorate the 100th anniversary of the last Morgan Silver Dollar. Of course, the Mint was in favor of the idea, commemorative coins are the meat and potatoes of the Mint’s business – even though recent offerings have fallen flat – but that’s another story. So, they found a couple of Congressmen to pitch it to – and viola – we have a bill.
Now, as collectors know, Commemorative coins always come with a surcharge. So, where’s the money going here? Well, a $10 surcharge on a one-ounce silver coin is being split up thusly:
- 40% to the American Numismatic Association (ANA) for educational activities
- 40% to the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri
- 20% for the Nevada State Museum (which was previously the Carson City Mint)
CoinWeek lists the ANA as being 24,000 members strong. Those members better get to writing their congressmen. Because even with a slim chance of this bill becoming law, we all know how fast the Mint works. A quick look at the new American Innovation Dollars – ahem, the final designs were revealed on Aug. 14, 2019, by the Mint Director at the ANA World’s Fair of Money, there are no scheduled release dates for any of the four 2019 coins; one wonders if they’ll have to backdate the coins! Of course, the Morgan and Peace Dollars should be easier – they’re already designed! Then again, it’s suspected that backdating is what happened with the original 1921 Peace Silver Dollars.
Back in December 1921, a public uproar over the design at the eleventh hour necessitated a revision to the plaster model by Mint Chief Engraver Morgan and the first Peace Silver Dollar was struck on December 28, 1921. The Mint later reported that 1,006,473 pieces were struck in 1921 – an astonishing accomplishment in 1921! The Peace Silver Dollar was officially released into circulation on January 3, 1922.
We can only assume the Mint has perfected striking High Relief coins, after all, these are commemoratives, not circulating dollars. Then again, they’re silver, not gold, like recent High Relief releases. In addition, in 1922, the Mint quickly discovered that striking High Reliefs coins were problematic. Excessive pressure had to be used on the rounds to bring out the details, and as a result, the dies broke very quickly. By January 10, 1922, production of the dollar halted. The relief was reduced – some say with the help of a technician from Tiffany – and the new low relief coins were released in February 1922.
Anyway, back to the bill. It’s not just politics jeopardizing the 2021 coins – it’s well, politics. You see, the Mint only authorizes TWO Commemorative coin programs per year, and right now, the following bills are on the floor:
- H.R.500/S.239 – Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2019 S. 239 has already been passed by the Senate. This coin honors Teacher and Challenger Astronaut, Christa McAuliffe on the 35th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy
- H.R.1830/S. 2042– National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R.1805/S. 639 – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R.636 – Muhammad Ali Commemorative Coin Act
Now, do I see the “Greatest Of All Time” Muhammad Ali beating out the Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars? No. But are the Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars considered one program or two? Well, I’m guessing one, based on how the bill was written:
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) $1 Silver Coins.—The Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the “Secretary”) shall mint and issue not more than a total of 500,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the Morgan dollar and the Peace dollar, each of which shall—
(1) weigh 26.73 grams;
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(3) contain not less than 90 percent silver.(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 designs of the coins minted under this Act shall be representative of either the Morgan dollar or the Peace dollar.
(2) 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 “2021”; and
(C) inscriptions of the words “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “United States of America”, and “E Pluribus Unum”.
>>>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.—Notwithstanding section 5131 of title 31, United States Code, it is the sense of Congress that if the Secretary determines it to be feasible and cost effective, the Secretary may mint some of the coins minted under this Act at the Nevada State Museum (formerly a United States Mint facility) located in Carson City, Nevada.
(c) Period For Issuance.—The Secretary may issue coins under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1, 2021.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3757/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%223757%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=3
So, Brilliant Uncirculated and Proof coins? Now I know it hasn’t been done with commemoratives, but judging how popular this program will be, can’t you also see Reverse Proof and Enhanced Uncirculated Coins? And the possibility of a CC Mint Mark? Holy Smokes, these coins will be HOT! Perhaps because the concept and the bill were written by two highly knowledgeable and avid collectors. Could the Mint screw this up and come up with another dud? I don’t think so. Which is why it’s imperative that the Mint and the ANA push this agenda. Collectors like you and myself have been patiently waiting for a real collectible coin – one we can treasure and be proud to own. And if you collect, you know I’m not just Mint-bashing. Imagine if you will, you are at the helm to launch the 2019 Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin program. Are you going to be lazy and use the same design for the $5 Gold, the Silver Dollar, and the Clad Half Dollar? NO! Yes, that worked for the 2014 Baseball program, but they were the first curved coins! The Mint could have come up with three different breathtaking designs for Apollo 11. The United States Mint should start taking a page out of the Canada Mint’s school of marketing and design. But I digress.
Coin Collectors, UNITE! If your numismatic mouth is watering at the thought of 2021 Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars, write your local representative and ask them to support H.R. 3757. You can find out who they are here.