July & August 2020 Numismatic Legislation Review
During a class for my master’s degree, a professor was fond of reminding us that politics is a contact sport. He meant that metaphorically, but the point was direct. Politicians will do what they can to get their job done, regardless of the inside consequences.
Unfortunately, the contact sport has spilled out of the halls of congress into the mainstream. Regardless of whether the proposal has merit and the politician is proposing with good intension, the game no longer is about the substance but the team everyone is on.
S. 4326: 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act
For example, S. 4326, 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act, would allow the U.S. Mint to strike silver dollars to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the last Morgan Dollar and the 100th Anniversary of the first Peace Dollar. The bill does not limit the number of coins, and does it have an end date.
The bill is not a commemorative coin act. It says that “all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.” The bill does not add surcharges to the coins’ sale, and the government keeps the seignorage.
Given the popularity of the Morgan and Peace Dollars, it would be logical to consider that the amount of seignorage earned from their sale would provide a good windfall for the government. Give the collectors something to excited about and pocket some change by doing so. A bill like this should be a no-brainer. Right?
I contacted an old friend that has survived the last 20 years on Capitol Hill. Aside from wondering why he was not receiving battle pay, we talked about pending legislation. When I asked about the 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act, he laughed at me.
“If it passes the Senate, the only way it will make past the door of the House would be if (someone) is sick.”
The “(someone)” is one of several members of Congress on one of the teams known to use constitutional procedures against the other team. They have objected to coin-related bills passed by the Senate because they revenue-generating measures. They cite Article I Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution (All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives;) to block bills passed by the Senate.
Since a member of the red team introduced S. 4326, the blue team will block the bill from being introduced in the House. Unless the Speaker of the House can convince these members to withdraw their objections, this bill will not pass.
Not all is lost. A version of the bill (H.R. 6192) was introduced in March by Rep Andy Barr (R-KY). If the red and blue teams play nicely together and pass this version, the U.S. Mint may be selling 2021 Morgan and Peace Dollars next year.
H.R. 7995: To amend title 31, United States Code, to save Federal funds by authorizing changes to the composition of circulating coins, and for other purposes.
Rep. Mark E. Amodei (R-NV) introduced H.R. 7995 in August. At this time, the Government Printing Office has not published the text of the bill. Judging by the title as introduced, the bill will require the U.S. Mint to change circulating coinage composition.
Without the text of the bill, it is impossible to judge its merits. I will see if this bill is worth discussing when the bill’s text is posted.
This Week’s Poll: U.S. Mint’s Last Chance Sale
This week’s poll is asking about the U.S. Mint’s Last Chance Sale, items that the U.S. Mint will stop selling on December 17. Amongst the items are the 2011 September 11 National Medal, 2012 Infantry Soldier Proof Silver Dollar, and the 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coins.
Will you buy these coins or medals? Did you already buy these coins or medals? Let your opinion be heard!
Summary of November 2012 Coin-Related Legislation
H.R. 2453: Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act
Sponsor: Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of Mark Twain.
This bill was passed by the Senate and enrolled on 11/15/12.
Presented to the President for his signature on 11/28/12.
See this bill at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr2453
House Subcommittee Hears Testimony on the Benefit of Dollar Coin
900 19th St. NW 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
The independent, non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) has now recommended a move to the dollar coin eight times to Congress. They have estimated that the federal government could save at least $4.4 billion, if not more, without raising a single tax or cutting a single program.
“GAO stands for accountability, reliability and independence,” Philip Diehl, former Director of the U.S. Mint testified, “Since 1990, GAO has issued seven reports, all reaching the same conclusion: billions will be saved. The estimated savings over 30 years have ranged from $4.4 billion to $15.7 billion. It didn’t matter whether a Republican or Democrat asked the question, the answer always came back the same.”
“We continue to believe that replacing the note with a coin is likely to provide a financial benefit to the government if the note is eliminated and negative public reaction is effectively managed through stakeholder outreach and public education,” said Lorelei St. James, who testified on behalf of the GAO. “Many other countries have successfully replaced low denomination notes with coins, even when initially faced with public opposition.”
In addition to testimony from the GAO and the former Director of the U.S. Mint, the House Financial Services subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology heard from the Royal Canadian Mint and others. Canada transitioned to a dollar coin in 1987 and realized ten times the budget savings initially estimated.
“Canada’s replacement of the one-dollar bank note with a circulation coin, and later the introduction of the two-dollar coin, can be deemed a success, from the perspective of the Mint and all end-users of Canadian currency,” noted Beverley Lepine, Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Canadian Mint.
Today’s hearing was chaired by Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ-5), cosponsor of the Currency Optimization, Innovation and National Savings (COINS) Act (H.R. 2977) and comes at a time when Congress is considering options for avoiding the fiscal cliff and addressing the federal budget deficit.
The COINS Act (H.R. 2977 and S. 2049) was introduced earlier this year by a bipartisan group including Congressman Schweikert, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), John McCain (R-AZ), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and is designed to save the country billions of dollars by eliminating the wasteful, inefficient $1 note.
Testimony from today’s witnesses can be found at www.dollarcoinalliance.org.
About Dollar Coin Alliance
The Dollar Coin Alliance is a coalition of small businesses, budget watchdogs, transit agencies, and labor groups dedicated to saving American taxpayers billions of dollars by transitioning to a one-dollar coin, and focused on educating taxpayers and policy-makers about the benefits of increasing dollar coin circulation. For more information, or to get involved, please visit www.DollarCoinAlliance.org.
Missing the Point Before the Hearing
Starting with a blog post on the Wall Street Journal website, the interwebs were all a twitter about the a testimony statement published in advance of the “The Future of Money: Dollars and Sense” hearing before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology November 29, 2012.
The testimony is by Lorelei St. James, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues of the non-partisan Government Accountability Office. The testimony report, “Benefits and Considerations for Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin,” reiterates the six previous GAO reports claiming large savings by replacing the paper dollar with a coin. This is not a new stance by the GAO. They have issued six reports since 1990 making the same recommendation with the last report (GAO-12-307) released on February 15, 2012—something I wrote about here.
Rather than concentrating on the redux of the GAO’s statements, the media missed the advance statement from Beverley Lepin, Chief Operating officer of the Royal Canadian Mint. In her testimony, Lepin will point out how the RCM changed alloys twice, has a coin recycling program, added color, and has anti-counterfeiting technology for their one-dollar (Loonie) and two-dollar (Toonie) coins.
Basically, Lepin is saying something only whispered by some: the Royal Canadian Mint is more advanced than the U.S. Mint.
But the problem is not the U.S. Mint’s fault. When it come to running their operation like a business, the RCM has a real business structure that works with the the Bank of Canada and the Parliament of Canada to ensure that their money supply is modern and more efficient. Neither Canada’s parliament nor the Bank of Canada micro-manages the RCM’s operations the way congress micro-manages the U.S. Mint.
I know that Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution says that “The Congress shall have Power… To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, …” but it does not say that congress shall have the power to micro-manage the U.S. Mint to the point where it is running using rules that have been made as long as 220 year ago. Maybe it is time to learn the real lessons from the RCM and modernize the structure of the U.S. Mint.
Before some strict constitutionalist or ardent supporter of congress accuse me of trying to usurp congress’s powers, let me remind you that Article I, Section 8 also grants congress the power “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.” The last time I looked, the United States Postal Service is an independent organization that establishes and closes post offices and it has been over 50 years since the last time a “post Road” has been built.
I do not expect anything to happen as a result of this hearing except for verbal fireworks from the politicians, overly excited sound-bites from the cable news talking heads, and incorrect information from the print media—which we will correct here, of course. I will just sit back and enjoy the show of the last hearing of this type held by a Ron Paul-lead subcommittee.
GAO Reports
The following is a list of the reports and testimonies from the Government Accountability Office about replacing the one-dollar note with a one-dollar coin:
- National Coinage Proposals: Limited Public Demand for New Dollar Coin or Elimination of Pennies, GAO/GGD-90-88, May 23, 1990
- 1-Dollar Coin: Reintroduction Could Save Millions If Properly Managed, GAO/GGD-93-56, March 11, 1993
- Dollar Coin Could Save Millions, GAO/T-GGD-95-203, July 13, 1995
- Financial Impact of Issuing the New $1 Coin, GAO/GGD-00-111R, April 7, 2000
- U.S. Coins: Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin Would Provide a Financial Benefit to the Government, GAO-11-281, March 4, 2011
- U.S. Coins: Alternate Scenarios Suggest Different Benefits and Losses from Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin), GAO-12-307, February 15, 2012
- U.S. Coins: Benefits and Considerations for Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin, GAO-13-164T, November 29, 2012
What Do You Think?
— Democritus
The power of the opinion. Opinions drive us to do things based on what we hear, how we feel, and process the information around us. Opinions make us different and even binds us together as a species. Opinions can have a significant effect on society, like and election. Other times, opinions can be like screaming into the wind, like complaining about the U.S. Mint.
Sometimes, expressing our opinion can be fun. I have taken the fun part of expressing our opinions in collecting and numismatics and added the ability to express your opinion privately, without anyone knowing what you think. If you look in the right column of this page, there is Poll section where I will post a weekly poll asking for your opinion on something. Anything. All related to numismatics.
The first poll is asking which is your favorite dollar coin design of the six choices listed. Pick one, click on the “Vote” button, and your opinion will be recorded.
Polls will change every week on Monday. Some polls may be about something serious or I may ask less than serious questions. Regardless of the question, it is all in fun.
You can vote once per poll. Yes, I know there is a way to “beat the system.” But if you are that passionate about a question, go ahead!
The system will keep an archive of polls which you can find on the Collectors Poll Archives page.
— Mark Twain in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson
The Poll
What is your favorite dollar coin design?
Total Voters: 24
Loading ...Enjoy!
Support the Coin Collectors Blog
Buy me a coffee
Thank you for your support!
Let Me Know What You Think
Are you going to the World's Fair of Money
Total Voters: 17
Loading ...