[20161207]IF10533_国会参与流通硬币的设计.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov December 7, 2016Congressional Involvement in the Design of Circulating CoinsIn April 1792, the Coinage Act (1 Stat. 246) established the United States Mint. Pursuant to the act, Congress prescribed various aspects of the design of circulating coins. For example, the Coinage Act directed the U.S. Mint to strike coins of specific denominationsEagles ($10), Half Eagles ($5), Quarter Eagles ($2.5), Dollars ($1), Half dollars ($0.50), quarter dollars ($0.25), dimes ($0.10), half dimes ($0.05), cents ($0.01), and half cents ($0.005)with specific images and words, including images of eagles and the words “United States of America.” Additionally, recent laws have prescribed certain imagessuch as which Presidents appear on the obverse of which coins and what images are to appear on the coins reversethrough law. Since its founding, the U.S. Mint has continued to strike circulating coins and Congress has continued to instruct the U.S. Mint on coin designs, inscriptions, denominations, and metallic contents. Except for the 1976-1977 Bicentennial issues, the designs on U.S. coins have remained similar since 1964, when the John F. Kennedy half dollar was first min