Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2008 N A S A 50th Anniversary - 108th Congress

I'm splitting this story into three parts, because there are natural differentiating lines between the coin proposals introduced in the 108th vs. 109th Congresses vs. those of the 110th and 111th Congresses.

Before I get started, a comment...

Had any of the proposed commemorative coin programs ro mark NASA's 50th Anniversary been approved, collectors would have been faced with an extensive and expensive coin set whose size had not been seen since the 1995-96 coin program for the Atlanta Olympics. I recall attending a 2008 Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee meeting held in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money (R) show in Baltimore, Maryland for the express purpose of listening to the discussion on the NASA coin program then being considered. When the meeting was opened to comments from the audience, I got up to express my objection to the program's massive scope and the fact that its coins were to be struck only as Proof quality. As a collector of the Mint's Uncirculated commemorative coins, a Proof-Only program was not one to which I looked forward.

A Bit of History - Part I

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established on October 1, 1958. It announced its first group of astronauts - the "Original Seven" - for the Mercury program in April 1959.

NASA finds its roots well before the late-1950s, however. They can be traced to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) which was established by the US Congress in 1915 (it was part of a US Navy Appropriations bill). NACA was set up in response to the European government-funded aeronautical research that was making great and significant progress in the field - the US was lagging behind even though the Wright Bothers made their famous flight in 1903 on the dunes of North Carolina, USA!

NACA Emblem/Logo


The start of World War I in 1914 and its use/development of aeronautical warfare was a major catalyst for the US to hasten its aeronautical research and development. NACA was launched to coordinate aeronautical research activities and thus help realize the commercial and military potential of aviation principles and technologies. ,In time, it would become a significant research organization in its own right.

To be continued...


The 108th Congress saw the introduction of companion bills in the House of Representatives (July 2004) and Senate (October 2004) that proposed coin programs consisting of four coin denominations: Gold Eagle ($10), Gold Half Eagle ($5), Silver Dollar and Silver Half Dollar. The House bill was introduced by John Abney Culberson (R-TX) and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology. The Senate bill was introduced by John Cornyn (R-TX) and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

The four denominations were to be used to strike 12 total design types.

- Up to 75,000 $10 Gold coins with "a design emblematic of the sacrifice of the United States astronauts who lost their lives in the line of duty over the course of the space program."

- Up to 100,000 $5 Gold coins, with the mintage split between two designs - one "emblematic of the Moon missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration" and a second with a design "emblematic of the Earth missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." No specific mintage split was included in the bill's language.

Note: No specifics as to the obverse designs of the gold coins was included.

- Up to 500,000 Silver Dollars with a common obverse design theme that honored "the achievements of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and bear an image emblematic of the missions and achievements of the Laboratory in the exploration of the solar system."

Things were to get interesting on the Silver Dollar's reverse as eight different designs were specified. Each of the eight planets (not including the Earth) was to be celebrated with a coin that featured a design "emblematic of the missions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to such planet."

- Up to 500,000 Silver Half Dollars with a reverse design depicting the universe; no specific language was included regarding the coin's obverse. I think the design choice for the half dollar's reverse would have been quite interesting - I can envision many design possibilities for the "universe"!

For those keeping score at home: four denominations, 12 design types with versions in Proof and Uncirculated - 24 coins in all! The coins were all to be struck in 2008.

In addition to the specifications of design themes for each of the coins, the bills also expressed an overarching design objective:

"The images for the designs of coins issued under this Act shall be selected on the basis of the realism and scientific accuracy of the images and on the extent to which the images are reminiscent of the dramatic and beautiful artwork on coins of the so-called "Golden Age of Coinage" in the United States, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, with the participation of such noted sculptors and medallic artists as James Earle Fraser, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Victor David Brenner, Adolph A. Weinman, Charles E. Barber, and George T. Morgan."

A high bar was definitely set!

Another interesting aspect of the proposed programs was their provision that the coins were to feature metals that had been flown in space. This provision was included as Section 4 in the bills - titled "SYMBOLIC INCLUSION OF PRECIOUS METALS THAT HAVE FLOWN IN SPACE" and stating:

"(a) Collection.--Each Federal agency and instrumentality of the United States, including the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, that has in its possession any craft, or any part of a craft, that flew in space shall--

"(1) retrieve such gold, silver, copper, and other metals that the Director of the United States Mint determines are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act, from such craft or part, that can be retrieved without harming any such craft or part that may be of continuing use for its original purpose or for research, or whose preservation is appropriate for historical purposes; and

"(2) deposit such metals so retrieved with the Director of the United States Mint.

"(b) Use Of Metals In Production Of Coins.--Any metals deposited with the Director of the United States Mint under subsection (a) shall be used in the production of the coins struck under this Act by blending such metals with other metal necessary for the production of such coins so that all of the coins produced under this Act will contain some proportion of the bullion obtained from craft or parts of crafts that flew in space in an amount appropriate for the types and denominations of the coins and the amount of metals so deposited."

So, coins minted under these bills would have been space-flown "relic coins" - typically a practice within the purview of private mints (e.g., the Franklin Mint). A "relic" coin or medal is one that contains metal (potentially some other material) that was once part of a noted ship, airplane, spacecraft or other historical artifact. Typically, a very small piece of the original source is mixed in with the molten primary planchet metal/alloy (e.g., silver) such that each coin/medal will have a minute amount of the artifact material (e.g., a single bolt mixed into a silver alloy that will produce hundreds/thousands of planchets).

As the coins were to be fundraisers for NASA, each had a surcharge added to its issue price:

- $75 per coin for the $10 coin (Eagle)
- $35 per coin for the $5 coin (Half Eagle)
- $10 per coin for the $1 coin (Silver Dollar)
- $3 per coin for the $0.50 coin (Silver Half Dollar)

Collected surcharges were to be paid to the NASA Family Assistance Fund, for "the purposes of providing need-based financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties."

Neither House nor Senate bill was reported out of Committee, and saw no further action. This is somewhat shocking to me, considering the House bill had over 340 co-sponsors! With that level of interest/support, I would have thought passage by the House was assured.

Next up, NASA coin bills in the 109th Congress.


For more of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.