Commems Collection Modern: 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary - Authorization

Lorenzo Lotto Portrait of Christopher Columbus (Artist's Vision)


Note: No verified, in-his-lifetime, portrait of Christopher Columbus is known to exist.

The Act that authorized the 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary coin program was not standalone legislation, its provisions were an amendment incorporated into a bill proposing the 1992 White House 200th Anniversary Silver Dollar. You can read more about it here:

- 1992 White House Bicentennial / In Congress

The original White House Bicentennial coin bill was introduced in the House of Representatives ("House") by Richard H. Baker (R-LA) in September 1991. Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committtee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage.

When it was brought up for consideration in the House by Esteban Edward Torres (D-CA) in November 1991, the White House coin bill was amended to include provisions for a 1994 World Cup USA three-coin commemorative program, Silver Medals for Persian Gulf Conflict veterans and a 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary three-coin program.

Representative Torres requested a suspension of the rules and called for immediate consideration of the amended bill - in effect, discharging the Committees to which the bill was referred. With little debate and no voiced opposition, the amended bill was passed in the House.

Frank Annunzio (D-IL), the Representative who introduced the original Christopher Columbus Coin and Fellowship Foundation bill (Precursor #1) rose in support of the amended bill and offered some clarifying remarks:

"I want to address the title of this bill which authorizes the minting of coins in commemoration of the quincentenary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

"I recognize that there is much debate over whether Columbus was actually the first to discover The New World. There may well have been others that got here first. The difference is that when Columbus discovered America, it stayed discovered." (Emphasis added.)

Frank "Bulldog" Annunzio - calling 'em like he sees 'em!

The Columbus coin Section of the amended bill called for up to 500,000 Gold Half Eagles, 4 million Silver Dollars and up to 6 million Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Half Dollars, with per-coin surcharges of $35/$7/$1, respectively.

Collected surcharges were to be deposited in a Christopher Columbus Fellowship Fund for use by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation "to award fellowships to outstanding individuals to encourage new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. Recipients shall be known as "Columbus Scholars"."

The House approved the amended bill and sent it to the Senate for its consideration. In the Senate, an amendment was proposed by Senator George John Mitchell (D-ME) on behalf of Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA). It was the same coinage redesign/Bill of Rights circulating commemorative coin amendment that Cranston proposed for the previous House Columbus coin bill. The Senate passed the amendment and sent the amended bill back to the House.

Note: Senator Cranston's previous proposed amendment stalled the original, standalone Columbus Coin and Fellowship Foundation bill (see 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary - Precursor #1).

Upon receiving the Senate-amended bill in the House, Representative Torres motioned to suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendment. The House debated the change, and ultimately decided against its passage. A Conference with the Senate was requested to negotiate the disagreements.

The Conference was held and a report issued. The Conference Report recommended that the coinage redesign amendment be replaced with provisions for a James Madison/Bill of Rights commemorative coin program. Both chambers agreed to the Conference Report, which effectively passed the bill. US President George HW Bush signed the bill into law on May 13, 1992.


To continue the story of the Christopher Columbus coin program with a look at the authorized coins, see:

- 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary - The Coins


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other Columbus Quincentenary stories, see: Commems Collection