Commems Collection: Question & Answer #08 - Commemorative Coin Minting Authority

On several occasions, the following question has been posed:



Throughout the classic era of US commemorative coins, the US Congress fully controlled which not-intended-for-circulation (NIFC) commemorative coins were struck by the US Mint. Before a NIFC commemorative coin could be struck, 1) a bill had to be introduced in either the Senate or House of Representatives (companion coin bills were sometimes introduced in both chambers), 2) the bill had to be approved by both chambers and then 3) signed into law by the then-current President. Without a coin bill being signed into law by the President, the coin was not struck by the US Mint.

Note: The preceding comments apply to commemorative coins that were not meant to circulate in day-to-day commerce. However, the Mint was authorized, by Congress, to change the design of regular-issue circulating coins no more frequently than once every 25 years. It used this authority on several occasions to introduce new coin designs for circulating coins that can be accurately considered as commemorative coins during their first year-of-issue. For example, the 1909 Lincoln Cents (released during the 100th anniversary year of Lincoln's birth) and the 1932 George Washington quarter (issued during the 200th anniversary year of Washington's birth).

The same provisions are in place for the modern US commemorative program, but the Treasury Department/US Mint has taken advantage of the authority granted to it by Congress to strike certain gold coins without first getting Congress' approval. This "unilateral" authority was recently used to produce the 2020 Gold $10 coin for the 400th anniversary of the voyage and arrival of the Mayflower. The coin was produced without a specific coin bill that authorized it. (It should be noted, as the coin was not a privately-sponsored piece, the Mint did not collect/distribute any surcharges for the coin.)