Mark Twain and March of Dimes Commemorative Silver Dollars Sought

Once again, two new pieces of legislation have been introduced in the Senate that would authorize the U.S. Mint to strike commemorative silver dollars to honor Mark Twain and also the March of Dimes.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), proposed a new version of the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act, numbered S.1929, to the Senate last week (November 30, 2011). It is very similar to bills there were introduced in Congress back in 2008 and 2009, which had died due to inaction.

S. 1929 calls for the United States Mint to strike Mark Twain commemorative $5 gold and silver dollars in proof and uncirculated versions. The required designs would have to be "emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark Twain," and have typical commemorative coin specifications, like those found here. Their inscriptions would also be standard, which will include the coins’ value, 2016, and the words Liberty, In God We Trust, United States of America, and E Pluribus Unum.

The bill restricts the $5 gold coin mintage to 100,000 and the silver dollars to 350,000. Surcharges would be equally divided between four institutions that promote Mark Twain’s legacy. They include the Mark Twain House and Museum (marktwainhouse.org) in Hartford, Connecticut, the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of the University of California in Berkeley, California, the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.

At this time, the Act has been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. There is also a version of the legislation in the House, H.R. 2453. It was introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) in August and is still in the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.

March of Dimes Commemorative Silver Dollars

As for the other coin bill, the March of Dimes Commemorative Coin Act, or S. 1935, it was introduced to the Senate by Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-NH) on December 1, 2011. Like the other Senate bill, it too has been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

The Act calls for up to 500,000 silver dollars in proof and uncirculated qualities in 2014 with designs "that represent the past, present, and future of the March of Dimes and its role as champion for all babies." In 2014, the organization will be celebrating its 75th anniversary.

Its surcharge would go directly back to the March of Dimes (marchofdimes.com) organization for research, education, and services that are intended to improve women’s, infants’, and children’s health.

Similar legislation, numbered H.R. 3187, was proposed in the House of Representatives in October. Designs, specification and nearly everything else in the new Senate bill follow the House version, which is described here.

For coin bills to become law, a version must pass in the House, Senate and get signed by the President.