On Halloween in 2019, during the 116th Congress, Bill Flores (R-TX) introduced a commemorative coin bill in the House of Representatives ("House") that called for up to 100,000 Gold Half Eagles, up to 500,000 Silver Dollars and not more than 750,000 Copper-Nickel (CuNi) Clad Half Dollars to help mark the "the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Nation's first statewide investigative law enforcement agency, the Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety."
Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
The bill included a "Findings" section to provide background and context for the coin proposal:
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Established in 1823, the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety is the oldest serving statewide law enforcement agency in the Nation and will commemorate their 200th anniversary in 2023.
(2) The Texas Rangers began as a multicultural agency, and over two centuries have included Native Americans, Tejanos, Anglo Europeans, African Americans, and Asian Americans serving in all ranks. Women have also served in both field and command ranks.
(3) Through the centuries, the Texas Rangers have served first as a citizen militia protecting ranches, farms, and settlements against hostile raids; they became frontier law enforcement. After the Civil War they became frontier peace officers protecting against outlaws and banditry and providing law enforcement to new towns and settlements on burgeoning railroad routes and cattle trails. With the turn of the 20th century they became a State Police handling lawlessness in oil boomtowns, violations of Prohibition, and gangsters.
(4) In 1935, the Texas Rangers were incorporated into one of the first Departments of Public Safety in the Nation. Today, they are internationally respected for conducting major criminal investigations, suppression of organized crime, border reconnaissance, SWAT, bomb squad, special rapid response, crisis negotiation, joint intelligence center management, and investigation of unsolved crimes. Pioneering initiatives such as the interdiction for the protection of children have resulted in invitations from law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation and internationally from Australia to Great Britain to help initiate similar law enforcement initiatives.
(5) The Texas Rangers have partnered with Federal agencies on numerous public safety and relief initiatives such as in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and with the Federal Bureau of Investigations on numerous occasions, including the pursuit of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in 1934.
(6) The Texas Rangers are also an icon of American popular culture. Songs, books, and novels have been written about them since the 1840s. They are America's largest and oldest multimedia "franchise" dating back to the earliest years of film, radio, and television. They have been featured in more than 225 movies and seven television series. After the Alamo, the Texas Rangers are the best internationally known historical symbol of Texas.
(7) The Texas Ranger Division Commemorative Coin will be the first commemorative coin to honor the Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
(8) The United States should pay tribute to the Nation's oldest statewide investigative law enforcement agency, the Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety, by minting and issuing commemorative coins, as provided in this Act.
(9) A commemorative coin will bring national and international attention to the lasting legacy of this Nation's statewide investigative law enforcement agency.
(10) The proceeds from a surcharge on the sale of such commemorative coins will assist the financing of the State museum, charitable organizations, and educational scholarship.In addition to the bill's all-purpose design specification of "shall be emblematic of the 200 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of the Texas Ranger Division", it also included details for the obverse and reverse design themes:
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Obverse: "an image of a Texas Ranger badge designed with the word "Texas" at the top, a star in the center of the badge, and the word "Rangers" at the bottom of the badge emblematic of the Texas Ranger Division and its history."
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Reverse: "an image emblematic of the Texas Rangers legendary status in America's cultural landscape. The image should depict Texas Rangers on the western frontier, including their geographic, political, or cultural history.
Though not stated specifically, such design statements open the door for common obverse and reverse designs to be used across the program's three coins. I've never been a supporter of such an approach - one frequently seen on commemorative issues from other countries - as I believe it minimizes the potential for interesting design approaches on the three coins based on the available "canvas" size.
In a section titled "Realistic and Historically Depictions", the bill stated that the designs "shall be selected on the basis of the realism and historical accuracy of the images and on the extent to which the images are reminiscent of the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of the so-called "Golden Age of Coinage" in the United States, at the beginning of the 20th century, with the participation of such noted sculptors and metallic artists as
James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
Victor David Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman,
Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan." I like setting the bar high!
One last comment about the design specifications, the bill included requirements for the inscriptions to appear on each coin. In addition to the standard "United States of America", "Liberty", "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum", the coins were also to include:
- the year of minting - "2023"
- the dual dates of "1823" and "2023" - a potential duplication of "2023"?
- "Courage Integrity Perseverance".
I can imagine a very cramp design on the Gold Half Eagle with all these inscriptions!
The Secretary of the Treasury was to select the final designs, after consulting with the Chief of the Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Commission of Fine Arts ("CFA"). As standard, Citizens Coin Advisory Committee ("CCAC") was to serve in a design review capacity.
Proof and Uncirculated versions of the coin were authorized to be struck in Calendar Year 2023.
The Issue Price of each coin was to include a surcharge:
- $35 for each Gold Half Eagle
- $10 for each Silver Dollar
- $3 for each Clad Half Dollar
Collected surcharges were to be paid via a tiered distribution model:
- the first $2,500,000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children "to further the Center's efforts to provide training, technical assistance, and resources to law enforcement personnel and others who investigate crimes against children, specifically cases of missing and exploited children."
- the next $2,500,000 to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund "to further assist the Fund in telling the story of American law enforcement, honoring the fallen, and making it safer for those officers who serve."
For any remaining surcharge funds:
- 50 percent to the Texas Ranger Foundation Scholarship Program "for students to pursue higher education."
- 50 percent to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum "for the preservation, maintenance, and display of artifacts and documents."
A program sell out would have generated $10.75 million in surcharges, a scenario under which all listed beneficiaries would have received at least $2.5 million.
The bill stalled in Committee, and died for lack of action upon the adjournment of the 116th US Congress.
Though the Texas Rangers coin bill was not authorized, collectors were given a similar opportunity with the 2015 US Marshals Service 225th Anniversary commemorative coins. IMO, the 2015 program's national scope was a better option for a US legal tender coin program vs. a Texas-specific program. (No offense intended to those from Texas!)
2015 US Marshals Service Silver Dollar
A privately-struck "coin" was produced for the Texas Rangers' Bicentennial. It can be found at the
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum Mercantile web site.
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/05/2025 06:40 am
