NASA Commemorative Coins Proposed
H.R. 255: NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act
Summary: Proposal for commemorative coins to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA. The program includes one $50 gold coin featuring the sun and nine $1 silver coins featuring each planet of the solar system.
Sponsor: Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee
Date Introduced: January 7, 2009
Current Status: Referred to Committee (January 7, 2009)
This is the second proposal for a commemorative coin program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A similar bill was introduced the prior year as H.R. 2750. Although it passed in the House, it was never voted on in Senate. The 50th Anniversary of NASA took place during on October 1, 2008, so if the commemorative coin program is authorized, it would technically be one year late.
The commemorative coin program would be an ambitious one, calling for a total of ten different coin designs with a combined maximum authorized mintage of 2,750,000 when considering all of the different options. This would represent the largest commemorative coin program since the 1995 Olympiad Coins.
The bill specifically seeks to authorize one $50 face value gold coin, containing one ounce of gold and nine different designs for $1 face value silver coins.The gold coin would have a maximum authorized mintage of 50,000 coins. Each silver coin would have a maximum authorized mintage of 300,000 coins.
The design of the $50 gold coin would feature an image of the sun on the obverse. The reverse would feature a design which is emblematic of the sacrifice that American astronauts who lost their lives made for their country. The obverse design of each $1 silver coin would feature one of the planets of our solar system, including Earth and Pluto, which recently was deemed not to be a planet. The $1 silver reverse designs would be emblematic of the contributions of the research and space centers, subject to a few specific requirements for Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto.
Guidance is provided that the designs should be scientifically accurate and realistic images which are reminiscent of the artwork produced during the “Golden Age of Coinage” in the United States. The bill specifically cites the work of James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor D. Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan.
The bill proposes that coins would be issued from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. The $50 face value gold coin would only be issued as part of a complete set, including the nine $1 silver coins. Bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coin may be sold separately at the determination of the Secretary of the Treasury.
Surcharges collected from the sale of coins will be distributed to the NASA Family Assistance Fund, Dr. Ronald E. MnNair Educational Science Literacy Foundation, Challenger center for Space Science Education, and the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation and maintenance of National Air and Space Museum.
