Seal of the United States CongressAs expected, the lame-duck Congress is well on its way to passing numismatic-related legislation on its way out the door. While the four leaders and their representatives negotiate other business, the rest of the members kept themselves busy doing the usual end-of-session clean up work. Here is a quick update on December’s actions:

  • H.R. 4104: Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
    LAST ACTION: Signed by President. Became Public Law No: 116-209. — Dec 4, 2020
  • H.R. 1830: National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act
    LAST ACTION: Presented to President. — Dec 11, 2020 (Not signed, yet)
  • H.R. 1923: Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020
    (Women’s History and Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Quarter Dollar Coin Program Act)
    PASSED THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES — Sep 22, 2020
    PASSED THE SENATE with an amendment — Dec 17, 2020
    LAST ACTION: Message on Senate action sent to the House. — Dec 18, 2020
  • H.R. 6192: 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act
    PASSED THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES — Sep 22, 2020
    PASSED THE SENATE with an amendment — Dec 17, 2020
    LAST ACTION: Message on Senate action sent to the House. — Dec 18, 2020
  • H.R. 7995: Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2020
    PASSED THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES — Dec 2, 2020
    LAST ACTION: Received in the Senate and assigned to committee — Dec 3, 2020

H.R. 1923 was passed in the Senate with an amendment that prevents the U.S. Mint from selling the coins at a loss. H.R. 6192 saw the Senate replace almost all of the wording rather than making small tweaks in order to fix what amounts to clerical errors. Even though both amendments are technical changes and do not effect their purpose, the bill has to be returned to the House of Representatives for approval. If the House agrees with the Senate’s changes, then they will pass the bills and send them to the President for his signature. If not, the law requires that the changes be negotiated by a Conference Committee consisting of members from both chambers.

It is unlikely that a Conference Committee is necessary for these bills. Either the House will pass them by unanimous consent or they will die at the end of the session. The thought of another circulating quarters program is not exciting (H.R. 1923) but there are many numismatists who would like a 2021 Morgan and Peace Dollars.

As an interesting idea, if H.R. 6192 passes and the U.S. Mint strikes 2021 Morgan dollars, instead of a privy mark to celebrate the Carson City Mint, how about a counterstrike? Have a “CC” counterstruck on the eagle’s chest similar to the “EB” counterstrike on the Brasher Doubloon? That would be something different.

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