Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2002 True American Heroes / 9-11

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US Congress saw multiple bills introduced for commemorative coins to honor those who had died as a result. This is the second of three posts about these proposed numismatic tributes. The first discussion can be found here: What If? 2002 Spirit Of America / Victims Of 9-11 Fund


In July 2002 (107th Congress), Peter T. King (R-NY) followed the stalled "Spirit of America" bill of Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) with the introduction of the "True American Heroes Act." The bill had a wider scope than Engel's bill and was a combined medal and coin proposal; it combined bills that had previously been introduced separately. The bill's objectives were:

"To posthumously award congressional gold medals to government workers and others who responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and perished and to people aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who helped resist the hijackers and caused the plane to crash, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the Spirit of America, recognizing the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and for other purposes."

The first Title within the bill sought Congressional Gold Medals for Reponders and Resisters, it included three distinct sections:

Section 101: Government Workers Who Responded to the Attacks on the World Trade Center and Perished

"In recognition of the bravery and self-sacrifice of officers, emergency workers, and other employees of State and local government agencies, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the United States Government and others, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including those who are missing and presumed dead), the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design for each such officer, emergency worker, employee, or other individual to the next of kin or other personal representative of each such officer, emergency worker, employee, or other individual."

The bill also called for duplicate Gold Medals to be presented to Departments and Duty Stations, the list of which was to include:

- The Governor of the State of New York
- The Mayor of the City of New York
- The Commissioner of the New York Police Department
- The Commissioner of the New York Fire Department
- The Head of emergency medical services for the City of New York
- The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Each precinct house, fire house, emergency response station, or other duty station or place of employment to which each person identified was assigned on September 11, 2001.

Note: Congressional Gold Medals are generally gold-plated vs. solid gold.

The bill also allowed the Mint to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the medal. The medals were to be struck at the West Point, NY Mint facility.

Section 102: People Aboard United Airlines Flight 93 Who Helped Resist the Hijackers and Caused the Plane to Crash

"In recognition of heroic service to the Nation, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design for each passenger or crew member on board United Airlines Flight 93 who is identified by the Attorney General as having aided in the effort to resist the hijackers on board the plane to the next of kin or other personal representative of each such individual."

As with the World Trade Center Gold Medals, the bill also allowed the Mint to strike and sell bronze duplicates.

Section 103: Government Workers Who Responded to the Attacks on the Pentagon and Perished

"In recognition of the bravery and self-sacrifice of officers, emergency workers, and other employees of the United States Government, who responded to the attacks on the Pentagon Washington, D.C. and perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including those who are missing and presumed dead) the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design for each such officer, emergency worker, or employee to the next of kin or other personal representative of each such officer, emergency worker, or employee."

The bill did not explicitly state the Mint's authority to strike bronze duplicates of the Pentagon medal, but I wonder if this could be chalked up to being an accidental omission vs. intentional one? Considering Bronze duplicates were authorized for the World Trade Center and United Flight 93 medals, it seems strange the same would not be allowed for the Pentagon medal.

Each of the three medals was to be of a single design that was emblematic of the group to receive the medal.; the design was to be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. The bill did not provide specification instructions for the Secretary, so it seems likely that sources such as the Commission of Fine Arts, the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee (CCCAC) and/or US Mint Design Staff would have been engaged by the Secretary to aid with the decision.

Title 2 of the bill was a revised version of the bill previously introduced by Representative Engel. It specified the same three coins - Gold $50, Silver Dollar and Copper-Nickel (CuNi) Clad Half Dollar.

The first major difference between the two, was the distribution plan for the Gold $50 coin. In the new bill, a portion of the mintage of the one-ounce Gold $50 coin would be made available to the general public at an issue price that included a $100 surcharge.

As with the Silver Dollar and Clad Half Dollar included in Engel's bill, the mintage of these same coins included in the True American Heroes bill would be open-ended and left to the Secretary of the Treasury to determine based on public demand. Mintage of the Gold coin was semi-open-ended. Its mintage was 25,000 plus the "the number of innocent individuals confirmed or presumed to have been killed as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001." The 25,000 figure is linked to the estimated number of people believed (circa 2001-02) to have been rescued from the World Trade Center on September 11th. (Note: This figure was later reduced to approximately 14,000.)

The coins struck in addition to the base of 25,000 were not to be sold to the public. The coins were to be presented - free of charge - "to the next of kin or representative of each individual identified" by the Secretary of the Treasury and the US Attorney General and the New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia Governors.

As previously, the Gold $50 coins were to be struck only as Proof coins. The new bill specified that the Silver Dollar and Clad Half Dollar were to be struck only as Uncirculated coins; the Engel bill did not state anything about the strike quality of the Silver Dollar or Clad Half Dollar.

The surcharges for the Silver Dollar and Clad Half Dollar were carried over from the previous bill, with a surcharge for the Gold $50 coin added:

- $100 per coin for $50 Gold Coin
- $10 per coin for Silver Dollar
- $5 per coin for Clad Half Dollar

The surcharges collected were first to go toward covering the full cost of the coins produced, then to cover the costs of the Gold Medals not covered by sales of the duplicate Bronze Medals and then, if any funds remain, they were to be "transferred to any fund for victims of the tragedies of September 11, 2001, that the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General jointly determine to be appropriate." The True American Heroes bill did not establish a new "Victims of September 11th Fund" for available surcharge funds (like the previous Engels/Spirit of America bill).

One last item - a provision shared with the previous Spirit of America bill - the bill exempted the coins from the "two-programs-per-year" limitation in place for US commemorative coins. This was necessary, as two commemorative programs were already in place for 2001 and 2002 - production of the 9-11 coins would likely begin in 2002. Congress can always bypass itself!

The bill was brought up for consideration before it was reported by Committee - under a request for the suspension of the rules - and "debated." There wasn't much of a debate, however, as those who spoke all were in favor of the bill. Representative King offered the following during his time:

"Mr. Speaker, the events of September 11 were the first great battle and the first great war of the 21st century, and the American people have responded in a way that surpasses what anyone could have ever hoped for, could have ever dreamt of, but the reality is that would not have happened if there was not such tremendous courage shown on the day of September 11 itself when the rescue workers came forward, when those who worked in the buildings, all of whom were heroes in their own right, did what had to be done.

"This was America at its best, and by adopting this legislation, both as far as the gold medals and as far as the commemorative coins, Mr. Speaker, it will be our way as a Congress of showing the dedication that we have to those "

The bill was passed in the House and sent to the Senate for its consideration. it was not acted upon in the Senate, however, and died for lack of action when the 107th Congress adjourned. The numismatic tribute for the victims of September 11th would have to wait a bit longer.


Next time, we'll have a look at a proposed circulating commemorative coin to honor the victims of September 11th. (And "No!" it's not a story about 25-cent coin!)


For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.