Commems Collection Modern: 1993 World War II 50th Anniversary - Part I

I recently posted about an unsuccessful Silver Dollar proposal that was to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Landing and noted how the bill was a contemporary to the efforts to secure a broader commemorative coin program for the World War II 50th Anniversary. (You can read the D-Day post here: What If? 1993 D-Day 50th Anniversary).

This time out, I'm going to take a look at the initial legislative history of the US' World War II commemorative coin program with which collectors are familiar.

In June 1989, during the First Session of the 101st Congress, Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives "To authorize the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a memorial, in the District of Columbia or its environs, to honor members of the Armed Forces who served in World War II, and to commemorate the participation of the United States in that war." The bill did not specifically call for a commemorative coin program, but it did create a fund within the US Treasury into which collected surcharge funds from a potential coin program would be deposited and subsequently made available to the American Battle Monuments Commission for the Memorial.

Nine months later, in March 1990, Representative Kaptur followed up her Memorial bill with a proposal (it included 240+ co-sponsors) that called for a three-coin commemorative program (up to 500,000 Gold Half Eagles ($5), up to three million Silver Dollars and up to two million Copper-Nickel (CuNi) Clad half Dollars). Certainly the potential for lots of coins to be struck!

As was/is typical, the bill included a "Findings" section to provide context and background for the coin proposal:

The Congress finds that--

(1) the period of December 7, 1991, through September 2, 1995, will mark the 50th anniversary of the involvement of the United States in World War II;

(2) over 16,000,000 people served in the Armed Forces of the United States during that conflict;

(3) over 400,000 American men and women gave their lives in defense of freedom around the world;

(4) World War II fundamentally reshaped the international geopolitical landscape, as well as the economic, political, and cultural institutions of our Nation;

(5) this War involved a clear choice between democracy and tyranny and involved our Nation as a whole in a worldwide battle against the forces of fascism and oppression; and

(6) numerous organizations and individuals across the United States have expressed interest in or are engaged in efforts to draw attention to the 50th anniversary of World War II.

The bill followed its "Findings" list with a "Sense of Congress" section:

It is the sense of the Congress--

(1) that the 50th anniversary of the involvement of the United States in World War II should not go unrecognized at the national level; and

(2) that the United States should recognize this anniversary by minting and issuing coins to commemorate the anniversary.

The designs for the coins were to "be symbolic of the participation of the United States in World War II," with final selection to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury "after consultation with representatives of veterans organizations of the United States whose membership includes veterans of World War II." (This would later prove to be a point of contention.)

The coin program was authorized from January 1, 1993 through December 31, 1993, with all coins struck to bear the date "1993". (Another point of future contention.)

The issue price of each coin was to include a surcharge:

- $35 per Gold Half Eagle
- $7 per Silver Dollar
- $1 per Clad Half Dollar

Collected surcharges were to be used to support the construction of a National World War II Memorial. As with the D-Day Silver Dollar bill I previously described (What If? 1993 D-Day 50th Anniversary), the three-coin WWII bill included provisions for "Excess Funds" and for the use of surcharge funds should the US Congress not establish a WWII Memorial.

Excess funds beyond what was needed to establish the Memorial were to be split between the American Battle Monuments Commission (40%) and the National Park Service (40%) "to maintain memorials under their respective jurisdiction of the respective agencies and authorized by the Congress during the 20th century relating to the commemoration of military conflicts in which the United States was involved."

The Smithsonian Institution (20%) was also to share in the excess funds and was directed to use what it received "to collect material and develop exhibitions to educate the generations of the 21st century about the efforts and struggle of the United States to establish freedom around the world during the 20th century."

If Congress did not authorize the establishment of a National World War II Memorial, the collected surcharge funds were to be distributed per the "Excess Funds" specifications.

The bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage. The Subcommittee held a Hearing on the bill in April 1990.

At the Hearing, the Subcommittee asked Representative Kaptur about several aspects of her bill:

1. Why date the coins "1993" specifically vs. indicating the broader period of US involvement in WWII (i.e., 1941-1945)? Representative Kaptur stated that she was open to alternatives that made sure the coins commemorated "the entire period from the beginning of U.S. involvement in the War until the end" and didn't believe the bill-specified "1993" date "would restrict us from putting the dates on there for the full period during which the U.S. participated."

2. Why no Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) review? Kaptur indicated it was done with the intention that multiple veterans' organizations were, instead, to be consulted regarding the design. This raised additional concerns, as the Subcommittee believed that trying to reach consensus among multiple veterans organizations would prove difficult/cumbersome. Kaptur was told to add language to the bill that specified that the CFA would review the design(s) as it was standard in all commemorative coin programs and should be continued.

3. The bill's requested mintage amounts were questioned, and Kaptur was asked if she "would be amenable to changing those quantities if it was thought that that was best in terms of marketing the coin and selling the coin?" She indicated that she would be, while also noting that research had been conducted and that the requested figures made "sense from a marketing standpoint and also to raise the needed amount of money."

Eugene Essner, US Mint Deputy Director, also testified at the Hearing. He also raised a potential issue with the "1993" date on the coin, stating that as "1993" did not coincide with a milestone event, and that the Mint had learned that "Without a central focus on a specific event, interest in the coin beyond the numismatic community - and I would say, the people directly involved in World War II or their relatives - may be limited."

Essner also raised issue with the design review by multiple veterans organizations, noting "there are such a multitude of veterans groups that fall within this definition that seeking input from all of the organizations may be a little unwieldy."

These comments aside, the Mint/Treasury Department did not object to the coin proposal.

Following the Hearing, the bill was subject to markup but it did not get reported out. As such, it was never considered by the Whole House and died for lack of action when the 101st Congress adjourned. It did, however, provide a workable foundation for future WWII coin bills.

I'll be posting Part II of the World War II coins' story in the next day or so, until then, check out the World War II Memorial web site of the National Park Service. It features lot of great information and images about the Memorial that was ultimately erected.



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other World War II stories, see: Commems Collection.