Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2011 Abraham Lincoln Surcharge Revision

The Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act was signed into Law on September 27, 2006 - the bill was signed by United States ("US") President George W. Bush. It produced a Silver Dollar, available in Proof and Uncirculated versions.

2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Silver Dollar - Uncirculated


The Act specified the inclusion of a $10 per Silver Dollar surcharge, with collected funds being paid to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission ("Commission") "to further the work of the Commission."

The Commission was established by the US Congress in 2000 with the following duties:

(1) To study activities that may be carried out by the Federal Government to determine whether the activities are fitting and proper to honor Abraham Lincoln on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of Lincoln's birth, including--

(A) the minting of an Abraham Lincoln bicentennial penny;

(B) the issuance of an Abraham Lincoln bicentennial postage stamp;

(C) the convening of a joint meeting or joint session of Congress for ceremonies and activities relating to Abraham Lincoln;

(D) a redesignation of the Lincoln Memorial, or other activity with respect to the Memorial; and

(E) the acquisition and preservation of artifacts associated with Abraham Lincoln.

(2) To recommend to Congress the activities that the Commission considers most fitting and proper to honor Abraham Lincoln on such occasion, and the entity or entities in the Federal Government that the Commission considers most appropriate to carry out such activities.

Notes: (A) What is this Lincoln "Penny" to which the Act refers? Last time I checked, the US only circulated a Lincoln "Cent." (B) The 2000 Act made no mention of a potential commemorative Silver Dollar.

To mark 2009, the Lincoln Bicentennial Year, the Commission developed programs to raise awareness regarding the impact Lincoln had on US history, planned and staged events in honor of Lincoln, developed educational materials and created a Speaker's Bureau to make knowledgeable Lincoln historians available for presentations.

The Lincoln Bicentennial Silver Dollar program is an interesting case regarding surcharge distribution. The Commission that was to benefit from the surcharges dissolved April 30, 2010. This was before the US Mint had finished its internal audit/reconciliation of revenue and expenses for the Lincoln coin program - something it was required to do before finalizing and paying surcharge funds. As a result, ~$5 million in surcharges (from sell-out sales of 500,000 coins) were never released to the Commission.

Efforts were made in 2011 - during the 112th Congress - to amend the Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act so that the surcharge funds It had generated could be paid to other Lincoln-related organizations.

The first such bill was introduced in the House of Representatives ("House") by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in November 2011. Regarding the surcharges, Nadler's bill proposed:

"(1) The first $2,000,000, to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial foundation, to further its work."

Note: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation is the successor organization to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; it remains an active organization continuing to commemorate and honor the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and his impact on the United States.

"(2) Of any amounts above $2,000,000, equal amounts to the following:

"(A) Ford's Theater, to maintain and preserve the building and its contents.

"(B) President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home, to maintain and preserve the building and its contents.

"(C) The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, for maintenance of the library and museum and their contents."

Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-GA) introduced a bill in the House in July 2012 that used different wording to propose closely-related distribution provisions:

"(1) Forty percent, to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial foundation, to further its work.

"(2) Twenty percent each, to the Ford's Theater Society, the National Trust for Historic Preservation President Lincoln's Cottage fund, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, for the preservation and maintenance of their buildings and the contents of their buildings."

Nadler's House bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services; Westmoreland's bill was referred to the same, with a subsequent referral to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.

Neither bill, however, made it to full House consideration and thus, ultimately, failed to become Public Law. As a result, the original surcharges would not find a new home or homes. I wonder what became of them?

For my collection, I purchased one Uncirculated coin and a "Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set" which includes a Proof version of the Silver Dollar and Proof examples of the four Lincoln Bicentennial Cents in their original 95% copper / 5% tin and zinc composition; the Set was limited to 50,000 units and sold out within days.


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.