A very curious request for a US commemorative coin came in June 1995 during the 104th Congress. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), on behalf of himself and eight others, introduced the "United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1995."
While the bill outlined several commemorative coin programs, the first one it referenced was the one that raided an eyebrow for me. It stated:
"Bicentennial of United States--On or before December 31, 1995, the Secretary shall mint not more than 25,000 $10 gold coins with specifications to be determined by the Secretary."
Of course, the US Bicentennial took place in 1976. Requesting a commemorative coin for the subject ~20 years later seems more than odd - but the bill had no further details on the coin request. No mintage limit, no design parameters, no sponsor/beneficiary - nothing but "with specifications to be determined by the Secretary [of the Treasury]."
Moynihan's bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, but was never reported out or considered. So, no details on the request ever emerged. I believe, however, that Moynihan was simply trying to proactively support a colleague - Representative Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA) - and made an error of omission. Mineta introduced a bill calling for ten-dollar gold coins to "commemorate the bicentennial of United States
gold coinage" in the House of Representatives just two days later. It seems to me that Moynihan was intending to request the same in his bill, but he (or a staffer of his) simply omitted two key words "gold coinage." (You can read about Mineta's bill here:
What If? 1995 US Gold Coinage Bicentennial.)
So, I believe the myth of the 1995 US Bicentennial coin is busted!
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 05/25/2025 1:51 pm
