This post is an odd one to write because all it is is a rather long answer to one trivia question: Who wrote the bill which created the most successful commemorative coin series in the history of the United States? This post has nothing to do with my dislike of Mike Castle as he has only proved himself to be an eager lapdog of the Republican Party leadership over the last decade. This is trivia only.
One of Castle’s jewels in his limited legislative crown has been the State Quarters series which earned the U.S. Treasury some $4.6 billion. Back in 2003, the Director of the U.S. Mint said, “Congressman Castle was the catalyst, authoring the legislation that launched this remarkable program, the most popular in United States Mint history.” Funny thing about Mike Castle and the Quarter . . . but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back in mid-90s the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee was in serious trouble. There were several commemorative coins that actual lost money. Who can remember the World Cup Tournament Dollar or the U.S. Capitol Bicentennial Dollar? When the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy met in July 1995 things were bleak for the U.S. commemorative coin program, very bleak.. Chairman of the subcommittee Mike Castle said:
We are here today to review the entire commemorative program. It may be that radical measures must be taken to preserve the taxpayer from risk in a program that is heading out of control.
If that is determined to be the case, this Congress will need to take the action necessary to rectify this situation. Above all, we were elected to preserve the taxpayers’ interest.
But all of that changed with the testimony of numismatist Harvey Stack:
. . . we could do the first 13 States and issue new commemorative coins every year or two that would commemorate the other States as they came into the Union, and then cover at least the first 50 States. It would be historical.
Mike Castle’s response:
I might say it is a brilliant idea, Mr. Stack. Delaware was the first State.
In one breath Castle recognized a great idea, and then said something true, but truly stupid. And just to piss off Glenn Beck, it should be noted that Stack’s idea originated with a Canadian commemorative coin series. Two years later in September 1997, Mike Castle introduced HR 2414 50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act. The act passed the House but never made it to the floor of the Senate. So, here is the question again, but this time with the answer.
Q: Who wrote the bill which created the most successful commemorative coin series in the history of the United States?
A: Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island
Why did Chafee’s legislation win out over Castle’s? Given the dismal history of the U.S. commemorative coins, Chafee’s legislation gave the Secretary of the Treasury an escape clause, an opportunity to terminate the program if it wasn’t making any money. Castle’s did not.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this section will not result in any net cost to the United States Government.
Considering that cost was Castle’s major concern back in 1995, it is odd that he did not include this in his legislation. However we’ll save that question for another time because as I said at the beginning of this post that all I was doing was asking and answering a simple trivia question.