Before I start my discussion of the Leif Ericson coin bills...
The first thing to know about the joint United States ("US") - Iceland 2000 Leif Ericson commemorative coin program is the fact that the 106th US Congress authorized only the US Leif Ericson Silver Dollar, the Iceland 1,000 Kronur was authorized by the Icelandic Parliament (aka, the Althing) - the US Congress does not have the power to authorize the coins of other sovereign nations. The US Mint struck (and sold) the Icelandic coin under contract.
The next thing to know is that the Leif Ericson Millennium Commemorative Silver Dollar was one of three coin programs included in the bill signed into law by US President William "Bill" Clinton on December 6, 1999. The same Act included the Capitol Visitor Center and Lewis and Clark Expedition Commemorative Coin programs.
Lastly, many spellings of "Leif Ericson" exist in the literature. I have tried to consistently use the spelling as it was presented during consideration within the US Congress. The first Leif Ericson coin bill was introduced in September 1998 by James A. Leach (R-IA) in the House of Representatives ("House") during the Second Session of the 105th Congress. Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.
The bill called for the minting of up to 500,000 Silver Dollars. The coins were to be issued "in conjunction with the minting of coins by the Republic of Iceland in commemoration of the millennium of the discovery of the New World by Leif Ericson." From the start, the commemorative coin program was intended to be a Joint Issue with Iceland.
The designs of the Silver Dollar coins were to"be emblematic of the millennium of the discovery of the New World by Leif Ericson." The designs were to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Leifur Eirikson Foundation and the Commission of Fine Arts. The Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee was to serve a design review role.
Proof and Uncirculated versions of the Silver Dollar were to be minted, feature a "2000" date and be issued in Calendar Year 2000. The bill stipulated that only one Mint facility could be used to strike either the Proof or Uncirculated coins; it was an "either/or" vs. "both" requirement.
The Issue Price of each coin was to include a surcharge of $10, with collected surcharges paid to the Leifur Eirikson Foundation "for the purpose of funding student exchanges between students of the United States and students of Iceland."
Note: The Leifur Eirikson (Eiriksson) Foundation was established in 2001 via a collaboration between the Central Bank of Iceland, the Icelandic Government and the University of Virginia. The Foundation continues to operate to the present day, and has been awarding Fellowships since 2006.
Graduate-level students in the US desiring to study/conduct research in Iceland, and graduate-level students in Iceland desiring to study/conduct research in the US are eligible to apply for a Fellowship The award amounts range up to $25,000 and are intended to help defray project costs (e.g., travel expenses to/from the research or study site).The bill did not progress past its Committee referral, but Representative Leach was not done!
Leach re-introduced his bill in January 1999, during the First Session of the 106th Congress. The bill mirrored his previous attempt to secure the Millennium commemorative coin.
As with the prior bill, the re-introduced legislation was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy.
It was called up for consideration in the House by Representative Leach in July 1999; he motioned to suspend the rules and consider the bill without a Committee Report. The motion passed; the bill faced no opposition during its debate.
During the House consideration of the bill, Representative Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN) stood to express his support for the bill and to provide some context for a coin program devoted to Leif Ericson:
"Leif Ericson played a vital role in the European discovery of our continent. It is a role that, over the years, has not been widely recognized. Within the past 30 years, new historical evidence has surfaced to show that Leif Ericson landed in North America around 1000 A.D., almost 500 years prior to Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World.
"Leif Ericson was born around 970 A.D. in Greenland, son of the famous warrior, explorer, and discoverer of Greenland, ''Eric the Red.'' There are two traditional accounts of Leif Ericson's discovery of America. However, the one that is best upheld by the evidence states that a contemporary of Leif's, Bjarni Herjolfsson, chanced upon America after drifting off course. Herjolfsson did not land in the New World, but upon his return to Greenland, he described his course to Leif. Following Herjolfsson's course, Leif later landed in North America. He named the new land ''Vinland,'' after the plentiful supply of grapes he found there. He built a small settlement and spent the winter in Vinland before he returned to Greenland."The House passed the bill and sent it to the Senate for its consideration. Once received in the Senate, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where it stalled.
A few months later, in September 1999, a companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Tom Harkin (D-IA). It was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, but did not progress further.
The story continues in
The Journey - Part IIFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other modern US commemorative coin stories, see:
Commems Collection 
Posted Today 5H 54M ago
