Following the stalled September 11th coin bill (see
What If? 2011 September 11 Tenth Anniversary, companion bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate in February 2010 that sought "medals in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center."
Swap out "medals" and replace it with "coins" and the objective for the new bills is the same as the previous coin bill.
The House medal bill was introduced by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY); the Senate medal bill by Charles E. Schumer (D-NY). The House bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services; the Senate bill to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The bills called for 2 million one-ounce silver medals with a design "emblematic of the courage, sacrifice, and strength of those individuals who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the bravery of those who risked their lives to save others that day, and the endurance, resilience, and hope of those who survived." This was the same general design specification as included in the previous coin bill.
As would be expected, the inscriptions to be included differed. Gone were the coin inscriptions "Liberty", "In God We Trust", "United States of America" and "E Pluribus Unum" (mandated for coins), but the previously-proposed coin's "Always Remember" inscription remained. Also, the dual dates "2001-2011" were to be included vs. the coin's "2011" alone.
The bills called for the striking of only Proof versions of the medal (vs. Proof and Uncirculated coins). Regarding the minting of the medals, the medal bill duplicated the wording of the coin bill:, and stated "to the extent possible, approximately one-half of the coins [sic] to be minted under this Act should be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, and approximately one-half struck at the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." (Note: The wording was corrected to "medals" vs. "coins" before it was approved by the House.)
The medal was authorized to be struck through December 31, 2012.
As with the proposed coin, the medal was to carry a surcharge of $10 each, with collected funds going to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center "to support the operations and maintenance of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center following its completion."
The House medal bill progressed, was passed (with minor amendments) by the House and sent to the Senate for its consideration. The Senate passed the House bill in lieu of its own and the bill was ultimately signed into law by US President Barack Obama on August 6, 2010. (Note: The Senate version of the medal bill was never reported out of Committee.)
In summary, Representative Nadler's medal bill was essentially a duplicate of his previous coin bill with references to a Silver Dollar being replaced by a Silver Medal. The new bill called for the same mintage, the same minting instructions, the same surcharge and the same surcharge beneficiary. There were differences: Proof only medals vs. Proof and Uncirculated coins, a dual date ("2001-2011") for the medal vs. "2011" alone on the coins and a minting authority for the medal that extended through 2012 vs. the coin's which ended in 2011.
2011 September 11, 2001 National Medal
(Image Credit: Image courtesy of PCGS CoinFacts, https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts.To avoid redundancy here, see
2011 September 11th Tenth Anniversary - Rant for a discussion of the medal's designs and mintage.
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more September 11th stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 02/17/2025 3:41 pm
