HR 5168 - Require The Secretary Of The Treasury To Mint Coins In Recognition Of Christa Mcauliffe

This interests me. I wonder how far it will get.

2018? She would have been 70 that year.

I think this is a great idea to recognize Christa. Also think they could have done this for all the crew.
It's hard to think this was 30 years ago.

One might say the same about Kennedy.

If someone did say that about Kennedy, then they'd be wrong in my opinion. Kennedy was murdered precisely because he was the elected president. Christa McAuliffe died in a tragic accident. Kenney would still be well know if he wasn't assassinated. The primary reason that Christa McAuliffe is known (to the extent she is) is because she died tragically. Had she lived, nobody would think about putting her on a coin. Yes, Kennedy did get put on a coin after he was assassinated, but that's only because he was already president and would go down in history regardless. Please understand that I'm not trying to diminish the loss of Christa McAuliffe. It's just not coin worthy in my opinion.

Absolutely "NO" to the McAuliffe coin as it muddies waters by having TWO different space themed proposals in committee at the same time. May split the votes and cause the 50th Apollo 11 2019 commemorative program to fail to garner enough votes yet again. Basic question is would you rather have a coin commemorating the triumphs of the first man on the moon or the Challenger shuttle disaster? I think the answer for most Americans would be pretty obvious. No slight intended to the shuttle crew, but priorities need to be set straight.

HR 5168 calls for a fairly limited coin program, just 350,000 silver dollars of the standard specs. No gold and no clad half dollar.

The bill calls for a 2018-dated coin which is not currently allowed as there are already two programs slated for 2018 - World War I Veterans and Breast Cancer Awareness. So, if it goes forward, adjustments will have to be made to its language.

Considering the bill is (at least superficially) meant to honor a school teacher and the surcharges collected on the coin are to be paid to the FIRST program (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) which was founded in 1989 "to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology," I find it odd that the bill did not include a half dollar. Its lower selling price would seem a perfect fit for a young person's budget and an ideal coin for an educational "Young Collector's Set."

The bill uses Christa McAuliffe's name as the headline, but it seems much more about raising funds for the FIRST Program than anything else. McAuliffe was a social studies teacher, not a science teacher. She didn't have anything to do with the FIRST Program in concept or execution; it was founded by Dean Kamen who is listed on the FIRST site as "a prolific inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology. His passion and determination to help young people discover the excitement and rewards of science and technology are the cornerstones of FIRST." The only mention of McAuliffe on the FIRST web site is a press release about the coin - rather telling IMO.

I believe the coin bill is simply trying to capitalize on the name recognition associated with McAuliffe to increase its chances of approval as it does not direct any funds toward supporting the memory/legacy of McAuliffe. I'm not saying the FIRST Program is a bad thing - I'm not! - but trading on the McAuliffe name to raise funds for it just doesn't sit right with me.

Thank you for the breakdown, commems!

What would they change to make this not a commemorative? The bill is titled "H.R.5168 - Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2016".