Continuing from Part I of this story... (You can read Part I here.)In January 1993, during the First Session of the 103rd Congress, Douglas Peterson (D-FL) re-introduced his "Prisoner-of-War Commemorative Coin Act" in the United states ("US") House of Representatives ("House").
It again called for the minting of 1.5 million Silver Dollars with a design "emblematic of the experience of Americans who have been prisoners of war."
The $5 surcharge per coin and the tiered distribution model of his previous bill were carried forward.
Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Consumer Credit and Insurance.
The bill's 253 co-sponsors ensured that the bill would be included in the same Hearing that discussed the Women in Military Service bill (among others). Wayne Hitchcock, Former National Junior Commander, American Ex-Prisoners-of-War, attended the Hearing in support of the proposed Silver Dollar.
Hitchcock began his testimony by reviewing how funds raised by coin sales would be used: "The profits derived from the sale of such a coin would be used for the purpose of building a museum at the Andersonville, Georgia Civil War prison site. This national historic site is unique in the national park system as the only park to serve as a memorial to all Americans ever held prisoners of war."
He also presented very data-driven testimony, presenting statistics regarding American Prisoners since World War I (~142,000), Prisoners Returned (~125,000) and the number of former prisoners still alive in January 1993 (~66,000). He went on state that the largest component of the ~142,000 prisoner total was those captured during World War II (~116,000) and that as the average age of those in this WWII group was 70+, the annual losses of living former prisoners would soon rise above 1,000 per year. As a result, he stated to the Subcommittee, "time is of the essence" to build the museum and secure the coin that would support its construction.
The bill did not, however, receive further consideration, as written, in the House, and the companion bill introduced in the Senate by Richard C. Shelby (D-AL) was postponed indefinitely after being favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Banking.
As with the Women in Military Service coin bill, the standalone Prisoner of War bill was postponed in favor of the combined "Veterans Program" coin bills which, ultimately, yielded the 1994 Prisoner of War Silver Dollar.
1994 Prisoner of War Silver Dollar
Note: The coin's reverse design presents the circa 1994 design proposal for the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville, Georgia; the Museum was completed and opened in 1998 - its final design is faithful to the proposed design. I'll soon be finishing the story of the "Veterans Program" commemorative Silver Dollars with the pre-cursor story of the Vietnam Veterans commemorative coin. Stay tuned!
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/25/2025 6:29 pm
