Collectors who enjoy planetary themed proof coins may get another chance at adding ten more to their collection beginning in 2011.
A new NASA commemorative bill has been introduced again that seeks to "mint and issue $50 gold and $1 silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA."
H.R. 255, entitled the NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act, was introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on January 7, 2009.
The act may sound familiar as it has become a yearly tradition of late. In 2007, a nearly identical H.R. 2750 passed in the House. In 2008, the Senate passed S. 2159, which had but a few changes. The 110th congress was unable to synchronize either before its session ended, resulting in this latest attempt for the 111th congress to consider.
Ironically, NASA began operation on October 1, 1958 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last October. The legislators may minimally want to consider a new bill name. Read the rest of this entry »
The House of Representatives passed commemorative coin legislation Tuesday that would issue silver and gold coins honoring NASA’s 50th anniversary this year. The legislation, H.R. 6455, was introduced and passed swiftly in five days.
Praiseworthy speed? Perhaps not… Consider first that H.R. 6455 is nearly identical to H.R. 2750, which the House had already passed in 2007. And for all practical purposes, it’s identical to the Senate’s June passage of S. 2159.
Before getting into why there are three bills, its more important to know what the passage of any one of them means to coin collectors. Each bill would authorize the United States Mint to issue:
The $50 gold coin would only be issued as part of a complete set with the 9 silver commemoratives. All coins would be 2008 dated to honor the 50th anniversary of NASA’s first day of operations on October 1, 1958.
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Coin legislation entitled NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (S. 2159) should receive the President’s signature in short order.
The Senate unanimously passed the act on Thursday, June 19, which follows unanimous passage by the House for the same named bill on July 30, 2007.
The legislation authorizes the United States Mint to issue:
The NASA commemoratives would be minted in "proof quality only." The proposed nine various designs for the silver coins add an extra level of intrigue to these commemoratives that is sure to peak interest.
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It was introduced only last month but The NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act passed the House and is now in the Senate’s hands for likely approval.
The Act authorizes the United States Mint to produce a $50 gold coin and nine; yes, that’s nine $1 silver coins. It also allows for a bronze duplicate of the gold coin.
The timeline? NASA started on October 1, 1958 so the commemorative coins would have to be released next year.
These new coins would be Proof quality only. They certainly have the potential to be intriguing and popular coins for collectors. The $50 coin is set to contain 1 troy ounce of fine gold and limited to only 50,000. Its Obverse would have an image of the sun and the Reverse "shall bear a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty…"
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