Following the March 1982
Report of the Gold Commission, multiple bills were introduced in the House of Representatives ("House") and Senate. (for more on the Gold Commission, see:
American Gold Eagle Program / The Gold Commission.)
The first was introduced in the House in April 1982 by Ron E. Paul (R-TX) for himself and Chester Trent Lott (R-MS), Lawrence McDonald (D-GA), George V. Hansen (R-ID), Philip M. Crane (R-IL), James E. Jeffries (R-KS), James M. Collins (R-TX), John H. Rousselot (R-CA), Daniel B. Crane (R-IL), Marvin H. Edwards (R-OK), Larry E. Craig (R-ID) and Gregory H. Brown (R-CO). (Just one lone Democrat!)
Representative Paul was a proponent of the legislation that established the Gold Commission and was a member of the Commission. As a result, he was in a great position to craft a bill for gold bullion coins based on his involvement in the Commission's thinking and discussions.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage. The Subcommittee held a Hearing on the bill in September 1982 - Frank Annunzio (D-IL) was the Subcommittee Chairman.
The bill named the proposed gold coins "American Eagles", and outlined the striking of:
"(1) an "Eagle", having a gold content of one fine troy ounce and a diameter of 1.28 inches;
"(2) a "Half Eagle", having a gold content of one-half fine troy ounce and a diameter of 1.06 inches;
"(3) a "Quarter Eagle", having a gold content of one-quarter fine troy ounce and a diameter of 0.879 inches; and
"(4) a "Tenth Eagle", having a gold content of 11 one-tenth fine troy ounce and a diameter of 0.65 12 inches."The coins were to be 0.900 pure gold, with the balance (0.100) to be a TBD alloy.
(The specifications might sound familiar!)
The bill also specified the designs to be featured on the coins:
"(1) on the obverse side, the design of the 1908 double eagle, together with inscriptions specifying the gold content and the year of minting;
"(2) on the reverse side, the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States"No mintage limit was set for any of the coins - it was left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. The coins
were not to be considered legal tender for "for public debts, public charges, taxes, duties, or dues" but were unrestricted in their use in the payment of private debt.
The one-ounce coins were to be delivered to banks and retailers no later than January 1, 1984. The other three coins were to be made available by January 1, 1985.
The coins were to be sold at the prior day's gold price as determined by the close of trading (4 pm) "plus an amount determined by the Secretary to pay for the minting, delivering, and distribution expenses of the coins, and all other related expenses."
Gains and/or losses as a result of purchases of the gold coins were not to be considered as a capital gin/loss under Federal, State or local income tax laws, and the coins were to be exempt from Federal, State and local sales tax, personal property tax and/or excise tax.
I'll discuss the Hearing held to review thie House bill in
American Gold Eagle Program / 1982 Proposals - Part IIFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other US modern-era US coin stories, see:
Commems Collection
Posted Today 5H 33M ago
