Commemorative coin legislation was reintroduced in the US House of Representatives to help in honoring the sacrifice of America’s servicemen and servicewomen who were killed or wounded in combat.
Entitled the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act and numbered H.R.358, the bill was presented by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) on Jan. 14, 2015.
Similar to the previous version, H.R.3867, that was introduced a year ago but died due to inaction, H.R.358 calls for up to 50,000 gold coins, 400,000 silver dollars and 750,00 clad half-dollars that have designs emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. The bill’s language states that all the commemorative coins must be struck in the U.S. Mint facility at West Point, NY.
The Hall, located at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site in New York’s Hudson River Valley and found online at www.thepurpleheart.com, opened on Nov. 10, 2006. Its mission is to collect and preserve the stories of Purple Heart recipients. These stories are preserved and shared through exhibits and videotaped interviews of the veterans themselves. It recognizes the more than 1.7 million U.S. service members wounded or killed in action ranging from the American Revolutionary War to the present day.
H.R.358 asks that sales of each coin include surcharges paid to the Hall to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing facilities. Surcharge amounts include $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver dollar and $5 per half-dollar.
If this legislation passes in the House and Senate and gets signed by the President, the United States Mint would strike and sell collector proof and uncirculated versions in calendar year 2017. Currently, H.R.358 is sitting in the House Committee on Financial Services.
