[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4703 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4703
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to honor and
memorialize the tragedy of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865,
which is the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2021
Mr. Crawford (for himself and Mr. Westerman) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins to honor and
memorialize the tragedy of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865,
which is the greatest maritime disaster in United States history.
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 ``Sultana Steamboat Disaster
Commemorative Coin Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) On April 27, 1865, the Sultana, a Mississippi River
paddlewheel steamboat, exploded killing nearly 1,200 of the
2,137 passengers and crew on board. Based on the number of
recorded casualties, this event is the worst maritime disaster
in United States history.
(2) The Sultana was launched on January 3, 1863, and was
built for speed and capacity. Its four tubular, fire-tube
boilers could generate twice as much steam per fuel load as
conventional fuel boilers at that time. However, these
advantages came with shortcomings in safety. In a tubular
boiler system, the water levels had to always be maintained.
Any slight dip in the water would cause sediment build up
around the boilers or lead to hot spots on the boilers leading
to metal fatigue. Both occurrences greatly increased the risk
of explosion. Additionally, the Sultana was built with highly
flammable lightweight wood that was covered with paint and
varnish. The likelihood of any such explosion would be
devastating.
(3) Those aboard the boat were mostly paroled Union
soldiers having been taken prisoners of war and sent to the
notoriously overcrowded Confederate prisons of Cahaba in
Alabama and Andersonville in Georgia. These men largely hailed
from the States of Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan,
Kentucky, and West Virginia. The POWs that survived these
prisons at the end of the Civil War in April 1865 were marched
to Vicksburg, Mississippi, for their return north.
(4) The Union army was paying the Sultana's captain $5 for
each enlisted man and $10 for each officer taken aboard. The
Sultana originally was only built for a capacity of 376 people,
and now found itself crowded with 2,137 people.
(5) Bound for Cairo, Illinois, and forcing itself against
the strong Mississippi River current, the Sultana was ten miles
upriver from Memphis, Tennessee, at 2 a.m., when the strained
boilers exploded. Many were killed instantly by the explosion;
many others were killed by fire, falling timbers, shrapnel,
searing steam from the boilers, and drowning.
(6) The remains of the Sultana took about twenty minutes to
burn to the waterline and resting in the mud on the Arkansas-
side of the Mississippi River. It is believed to be buried
today under twenty feet of soil beneath a soybean field near
Marion, Arkansas, in Crittenden County.
(7) Many of the dead were buried in Memphis cemeteries.
Bodies of the deceased that could be identified were taken home
where cemetery markers pay tribute.
(8) The Sultana disaster was overshadowed in the press by
other major events surrounding the end of the American Civil
War, including the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
on April 15, 1865, and subsequently, the killing of President
Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, on April 26, 1865, just
one day before the Sultana disaster.
(9) A small group in Marion, Arkansas, formed the Sultana
Historical Preservation Society and opened a modest museum in
2015. The Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is now planning a
new Sultana Disaster Museum to be located in the center of the
City of Marion, at the site of the original Marion Public
School gymnasium, a Works Progress Administration era building
opened in 1939.
(A) On April 27, 2021, the 156th anniversary of the
steamboat explosion, the Society announced an initial
$7.5 million capital campaign to fund the new museum.
The goal has since increased to $14 million to
accommodate upgraded exhibit designs.
(B) The future museum will commemorate and honor
those who experienced the horrific disaster and
preserve a piece of United States history.
(C) The museum is projected to attract 50,000
visitors to Marion, Arkansas, annually, with tourists
projected to contribute over $3.5 million in spending
in the surrounding cities.
(10) The commemorative coins will contribute to additional
funding for the future Sultana disaster museum, while
recognizing and remembering this historical tragedy and those
who perished in the explosion.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--In recognition and remembrance of the tragedy
of the Sultana Steamboat explosion of 1865, which is the greatest
maritime disaster in United States history, the Secretary of the
Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall
mint and issue the following coins:
(1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of
0.850 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 500,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of
1.500 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90 percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
dollar coins which shall--
(A) weigh 11.34 grams;
(B) be struck on a planchet having a diameter of
1.205 inches; and
(C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar
coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United
States Code.
(b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
(c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of
title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 4. DESIGNS OF COINS.
(a) Designs Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The designs of the coins minted under this
section shall be emblematic of the historical significance of
the Sultana disaster, with special recognition and remembrance
to the lives lost, including the recently released Union
soldiers returning home after having been prisoners of war
during the American Civil War at Confederate prisons located at
Andersonville and Cahaba.
(2) Designation and inscriptions.--On each coin minted
under this Act there shall be--
(A) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
(B) an inscription of the year ``2023''; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God
We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E
Pluribus Unum''.
(b) Selection.--The designs of the coins minted under this Act
shall be--
(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with--
(A) the Commission of Fine Arts; and
(B) the Sultana Historical Preservation Society,
Inc.; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
(b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins, to the
public, minted under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning
on January 1, 2023.
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.
(a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by
the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of--
(1) the face value of the coins;
(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to
such coins; and
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including
labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, winning design
compensation, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping).
(b) Prepaid Orders.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders
for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such
coins.
(2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders
under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
(c) Marketing and Educational Campaign.--The Secretary shall
develop and execute a marketing, promotion, and educational program to
promote the collecting of the coins authorized under this Act.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall
include a surcharge as follows:
(1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 gold coin.
(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 silver coin.
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid to the Sultana
Historical Preservation Society, Inc., for the purpose of establishing
and maintaining a new Sultana disaster museum.
(c) Audits.--The surcharge recipient under subsection (b) shall be
subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31,
United States Code, with regard to the amounts received under
subsection (b).
(d) Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may
be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin
during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the
issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin
programs issued during such year to exceed the annual commemorative
coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31,
United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this
Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out
this subsection.
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that--
(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not
result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are
disbursed to any recipient designated in section 7 until the
total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized
by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, winning design compensation, overhead expenses,
marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United States
Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title
31, United States Code.
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