NASA and Girl Scouts Silver Coin Legislation Start 2009

The first two coin related bills introduced in 2009 and the 111th Congress would commemorate the anniversaries of NASA and the Girl Scouts USA with hundreds of thousands silver coins in the year 2011.

Neither bill is new, having been proposed in the previous 100th Congress, but each failed to pass for one reason or another — which is not altogether uncommon with legislation.

NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

The NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 255) was introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on January 7, 2009. The legislation would have the United States Mint issue $50 gold and $1 silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA.

H.R. 255 calls for up to 50,000 gold coins with a reverse design honoring U.S. astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty. The obverse or heads side would depict the sun.

A maximum of 300,000 $1 silver coins with 9 different designs would be authorized as well. Each obverse design would bear an image consistent with the nine planets (in the case of Pluto, a dwarf planet). The reverse of the $1 coins issued under this Act would be "emblematic of the contributions of the research and space centers."

Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

The Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act was brought back on January 21 under a new bill number (H.R. 621) by Rep. Jack Kingston after the first version failed to make its way through the 110th Congress.

This bill would have the United States Mint up to 350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA. It includes a provision for a $10 surcharge for every coin sold that would be paid to the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

The Boy Scouts Centennial Commemorative Coin Act was signed into law in October of 2008, making it more likely the Girl Scouts legislation will eventually pass.