118 STAT. 3878 PUBLIC LAW 108–464—DEC. 21, 2004 Public Law 108–464 108th Congress An Act To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the tercentenary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Benjamin Franklin Commemora- tive Coin Act’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) Benjamin Franklin made historic contributions to the development of our Nation in a number of fields: government, business, science, communications, and the arts. (2) Benjamin Franklin was the only Founding Father to sign all of our Nation’s organizational documents. (3) Benjamin Franklin spent his career as a successful printer, which included printing the official currency for the colonies of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. (4) Franklin’s ‘‘Essay on Paper Currency’’ of 1741 proposed methods to fix the rate of exchange between the colonies and Great Britain. (5) Benjamin Franklin, during the American Revolution, designed the first American coin, the ‘‘Continental’’ penny. (6) Franklin made ‘‘A Penny Saved is A Penny Earned’’ a household phrase to describe the American virtues of hard work and economical living. (7) Franklin played a major role in the design of the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the One Dollar Bill and other major American symbols. (8) Before 1979, Benjamin Franklin was the only non- president of the United States whose image graced circulating coin and paper currency. (9) The official United States half dollar from 1948–1963 showed Franklin’s portrait, as designed by John Sinnock. (10) Franklin’s ‘‘Way to Wealth’’ has come to symbolize America’s commitment to free enterprise. (11) The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadel- phia houses the first steam printing machine for coinage, used by the United States Mint, which was placed in service in 1836, the 130th anniversary year of Franklin’s birth. (12) In 1976, Franklin Hall in The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia was named the Official National Monument to the great patriot, scientist and inventor. Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act. 31 USC 5112 note. Dec. 21, 2004 [H.R. 3204] VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:54 Nov 10, 2005 Jkt 029194 PO 00000 Frm 00412 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 C:\STATUTES\2004\29194PT4.001 APPS10 PsN: 29194PT4
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