Commems Collection Modern: 2004 Lewis And Clark Bicentennial - Surcharge Distribution Changes

I've previously discussed the journey of the legislation that created the 2004 Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Silver Dollar (SD):

- 2004 Lewis And Clark Bicentennial - 105th Congress
- 2004 Lewis And Clark Bicentennial - 106th Congress

I'm returning to the coin's story to provide a quick - but interesting - look at a change in the distribution of surcharges for the coin that was signed into Law in 2006.

The original Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act split the surcharge funds collected from sales of the L&C SD between the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial (two-thirds) and the National Park Service (one third).

The new Act - the Lewis and Clark Commemorative Coin Correction Act - adjusted the distribution parameters to a 50/50 split between the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial (a continuing beneficiary) and the Missouri Historical Society (the Missouri Historical Society replaced the National Park Service). The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by James Albert Smith Leach (R-IA) in May 2006 during the 109th Congress.

The new legislation also addressed potential "left over" surcharge funds by either beneficiary:

Transfer Of Unexpended Funds--Any proceeds...dispersed by the Secretary [that] remain unexpended by the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial or the Missouri Historical Society as of June 30, 2007, shall be transferred to the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation for the purpose of establishing a trust for the stewardship of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail."

What prompted the surcharge distribution change?

Comments made by Representative Leach as part of his introduction of the bill summed it up well:

Unfortunately, the Park Service has no capacity to raise the private funding necessary to satisfy the matching funds requirement of statutes guiding the issuance of commemorative coins.

So, to ensure the collected surcharges were actually distributed, Leach sought to amend the original coin bill to specify a beneficiary (the Missouri Historical Society) that could meet the legislated requirements to receive intended coin surcharge funds. It's important to realize that at the time of the amendment's introduction (May 2006), sales of the 2004 Lewis and Clark Silver Dollar had been completed (December 31, 2004) and ~$4.94 million in surcharges had been collected. If the original coin bill remained in effect, ~$1.65 of the surcharges would not have been distributed (i.e., the National Park Service share would have been "lost").

The "Unexpended Funds" provision was a meaningful inclusion in the bill. It made ~$1.6 million available to the Circle of Tribal Advisors (COTA) - the Native American organization whose artisan members created the decorated pouches included in the Lewis and Clark Coin & Pouch Sets- to establish the "Native Voices Endowment, a "perpetual endowment fund for Native language education and revitalization." The COTA also played a significant educational role in the [i]Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future tour created by the National Park Service. (See: 2004 Discovering The Legacy Of Lewis And Clark for a bit more.)

2004 Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Silver Dollar




For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other Lewis and Clark SD stories, see: Commems Collection.