Gold, silver and clad commemorative coins celebrating the 225th anniversary of the US Marshals Service are one step closer to reality after several previous unsuccessful attempts.
Introduced in March by Rep. Steve Womack [R-AR3], the United States Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act easily passed (412-1-20) through the US House of Representatives on Thursday, December 15.
The House bill, H.R. 886, has since been referred to the same Senate committee which has been sitting on a nearly identical bill, S. 431, that was previously introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR] also back in March. If either of these bills pass through both the House and Senate and get signed by the President, up to 100,000 $5 gold coins, 500,000 silver dollars and 750,000 clad half dollars would be produced by the United States Mint for sale between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015.
Designs on Commemorative Coins
As outlined in the bills, the $5 gold coins and silver dollars would feature the US Marshals Service Star on their obverse while the clad half dollar would bear a design emblematic of the Service and its history.
Reverse designs for the $5 gold pieces would symbolize the service and sacrifice of members who lost their life in the line of duty. The silver dollars would feature reverse designs "emblematic of the United States Marshals legendary status in America’s cultural landscape" and the clad half dollars would portray the role the US Marshals Service has played in changing the history of the United States.
Commemorative Coins and Surcharges
While prices for the commemoratives coins would not be announced until days before their release, they would include surcharges of $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver dollar, and $3 per clad half dollar. Those are standard amounts that legislation tends to mandate for modern commemorative coins. In fact, they are exactly the same as the surcharges included in the sale of this year’s Medal of Honor and US Army commemoratives.
Up to $5 million of the collected funds would be paid for the preservation and maintenance of artifacts and documents which will be displayed in the US Marshals Museum (www.usmarshalsmuseum.com). The yet to be opened museum is located in Fort Smith, Arkansas — the same state Rep. Womack and Sen. Pryor represent.
"Aside from the obvious benefit to Fort Smith — a world class museum — the real prize here is the exposure it gives to one of America’s great law enforcement institutions — the Marshal’s Service," Rep. Womack said Thursday following the bill’s passage in the House.
Remaining surcharge funds would go to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Law Enforcement Museum, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Since 2009, various bills have been introduced in the House and Senate seeking to honor the 225th anniversary of the US Marshals Service. None have been able to garner enough support to become law.
For information about the US Marshals Service, visit their website at www.usmarshals.gov.
I want to know when the coins will become available through the US Mint and when they will become available through the dealers such as APMEX and will they be available graded by PCGS