Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2014 US Marshals Service 225th Anniversary - Part II

Continuing the story from Part I


The proposed US Marshals Service coin program was authorized to release a limited number of coins "on or after September 24, 2014, the 225th anniversary date of the United States Marshals Service." All coins were to bear the date "2014".

Another atypical aspect of the proposed coin program - a nice one to see! - was the special allowance for US Marshals Service employees. The bills stated "To the extent possible the Secretary [of the Treasury] shall make arrangements to ensure that current, former, and retired employees of the United States Marshals Service...have an exclusive defined period of time to place prepaid orders."

The surcharges referenced in "Finding" #9 were to be:

- $35 per Gold Half Eagle
- $10 per Silver Dollar

Collected surcharges were to be paid using an ambitious multi-tiered model:

- The first $5,000,000 to the Director of the United States Marshals Service National Museum "for the preservation, maintenance, and display of artifacts and documents of the United States Marshals Service."

- Amounts above $5 million as follows:

>>> $1,000,000 to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children located in Washington, DC.

>>> $1,000,000 to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund located in Washington, DC, in support of the National Law Enforcement Museum and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

>>> $1,000,000 to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

>>> $500,000 to the William "Bill" Degan Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for spouses and children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

>>> $500,000 to the Robert D. May Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for spouses and children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

>>> $500,000 to the Community Oriented Policing Service.

>>> $500,000 to the Retired United States Marshals Service Association located in Miami, FL.

The secondary surcharge amounts total $5 million. When combined with the initial surcharge recipient's amount of $5 million, the total surcharge funds to be distributed amounted to $10 million. If the proposed two-coin program was a complete sell out, a total of just $8.5 million in surcharge funds would have been raised. I'm not sure how these differing amounts would have been reconciled, as the bills did not specify a percentage-based distribution model for the secondary funds that would be used if the full amounts were not available. (Can you say "legal battle"?)

The House bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services; the Senate bill to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Neither bill progressed out of Committee.

Following up on the stalled bills of the First Session, similar two-coin bills were introduced in the Second Session of the 111th Congress. Representative Boozman again sponsored the House bill (introduced in early July 2010); Senator Lincoln again sponsored the Senate bill (introduced in mid-July 2010)

The primary change in the House bill modified the mintage limits of each coin: the Gold Half Eagle mintage was raised to 142,000 coins and the Silver Dollar mintage limit was raised to 503,000 coins. Though odd requests, the increased mintage amounts covered the specified surcharge amounts that were problematic in the original bills.

The Senate bill took a different approach, modifying the surcharge distribution model rather than the mintage limits of the coins. Lincoln's Senate bill proposed a simplified, tiered distribution model. As with the original surcharge distribution model:

- The first $5,000,000 available was to be paid to the US Marshals Museum, Inc., also known as the United States Marshals Museum, "for the preservation, maintenance, and display of artifacts and documents."

Changes, however, were incorporated regarding the secondary distribution model:

- Of amounts available after the initial $5 million in collected surcharges was paid:

>>> Thirty-three and one-third percent was to go to The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

>>> Thirty-three and one-third percent was to go to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in support of the National Law Enforcement Museum and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

>>> Thirty-three and one-third percent was to go to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation.

Dropped were the contributions to the Scholarship Funds, the Community Oriented Policing Service and the Retired United States Marshals Service Association. Added to the mix was the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation.

The Senate bill's percentage-based model was much cleaner than previous approaches, and easily accounted for any collected surcharge amount above $5 million.

Each of the bills, however, stalled again in Committee and failed to be authorized/approved.

The bill that made it through Congress to became Public Law and authorize the US Marshals Service three-coin commemorative program that is familiar to collectors was introduced in the House during the 112th Congress by Steve Womack (R-AR)...but that's a story for a future post!


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