In July 1990, Alan J. Dixon (D-IL) introduced a Christopher Columbus bill in the Senate that was similar to the previous House bill (described here:
1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary - Precursor #1). As with the House bill, it called for a three-coin program - Gold Half Eagle, Silver Dollar and CuNi Clad Half Dollar.
Unlike the House bill, the bill included a "Findings" section:
"(1) October 12, 1992 marks the 500th anniversary of the voyages of discovery of Christopher Columbus as commissioned by the King and Queen of Spain.
"(2) To commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyages to the `New World', and the Hispanic and Native American contributions to the discovery and development of the Americas, a set of commemorative coins shall be minted by the Department of Treasury.
The surcharges from the sale of the commemorative coins shall be paid to the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Scholarship Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the `Foundation'), a private nonprofit foundation incorporated within the District of Columbia.
"(3) These funds, together with contributions, shall be used for the planning, organizing, encouraging and conducting of activities and projects related to a scholarship program. This program will commemorate Columbus' voyage by enhancing the value and prestige among American students of the study of geography, history, foreign languages and international affairs.
"(4) The proceeds of this coin sale shall constitute the sole Federal contribution to the Foundation."The bill incorporated different mintage limits than the initial House (i.e., Annunzio) bill: up to 500,000 Gold Half Eagles, up to five million Silver Dollars and up to 10 million Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Half Dollars.
The design of the Gold Half Eagle was to "be emblematic of Christopher Columbus, man and visionary and the New World then and now." On the Silver Dollar be emblematic of the New World Heritage of America and the New World's contribution to the Old. On the Clad Half Dollar, the design was to "be emblematic of the Old World Heritage of America."
The final designs for the coins were to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Commission; a Commission created by Congress.
The Issue Price of each coin was to include the same surcharge as the House bill:
- $35 per Gold Half Eagle
- $7 per Silver Dollar
- $1 per CuNi Clad Half Dollar
Collected surcharges were to be deposited in an endowment fund for use by the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Scholarship Foundation "for the purpose of generating income for the summer and scholarship programs" the Foundation was to administer. It was a plan with a different Foundation name and financial accounting mechanism, but the same ultimate objectives for the surcharge funds vs. the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation of Annunzio's bill.
To ensure the Scholarship Foundation did not rely solely on the coin surcharges for its funding, the bill also required it to raise $500,000 "from non-federally appropriated sources within 3 years of enactment of the Act" or else be required to return all of the surcharge funds it had received.
The bill authorized the striking of Proof and Uncirculated versions for each denomination, and specified that "not more than one US Mint facility could be used to strike any particular combination of denomination and quality." The coins were to be issued beginning on July 1, 1991 (or later), and ending 18 months after the actual issue start date.
To explore the final steps toward an authorized Christopher Columbus coin program, see:
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1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentenary - AuthorizationFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other Columbus Quincentenary stories, see:
Commems Collection
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