Bills have recently been introduced in the House and Senate which seek one ounce silver medals struck in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center.
H.R. 4684 was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 24, 2010 by Jerrold Nadler of New York. A companion bill S. 3034 was introduced in the Senate on the same date by Charles Schumer of New York. There are 54 cosponsors for the House version of the bill.
Although the language of the legislation is very similar to commemorative coin proposals, the bill specifically requests medals. The reasoning is likely due to the fact that two commemorative coin programs have already been approved for the year 2011, commemorating the U.S. Army and the Medal of Honor. Under current law, there can only be two commemorative coin programs per year. However, there is nothing to prevent the issuance of a commemorative medal.
Before the two commemorative coin programs for 2011 had been approved, a bill had been introduced on September 10, 2009 seeking September 11 Commemorative Coins. The current bill seeking medals carries many of the requirements and details.
The bills H.R. 4684 and S. 3034 seek the production of up to 2 million one ounce silver medals minted in quality comparable to proof coins. The medals would be issued beginning on January 1, 2011, with no medal struck after December 31, 2012. The bill suggests that one half of the medals should be struck at the West Point Mint and the other half struck at the Philadelphia Mint.
The design of the medals "shall be 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." Required inscriptions are the years "2001-2011" and the words "Always Remember".
The medals would be priced at the cost of designing and selling the medals plus a $10 surcharge. The surcharges would be payable to National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center for operations and maintenance of the Museum & Memorial at the World Trade Center.
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This is a bad idea. We do not commemorate our disasters or setbacks. There are no commemoratives of the Kennedy assasination. We honor the man, not the event, with his image on the half dollar. The same is true with other presidential assasinations. There is no commemoratives for the attack on Pearl Harbor or the Battleship Arizona trajedy. Here again we honor the fallen and those that survived, not the event. As with Pearl Harbor and other disasters, we will never forget. We do not need a shiny silver medal to remind us of darker times in our history
I disagree. This would commemorate the bravery of the fire fighters, police, and ordinary citizens who pulled together in an unbelievably tough situation without regart to their own personal safety to assist the victims of this attack. I applaud the effort, and will buy at least one from each mint!
I am a survivor of the collapse of the south tower and on scene commander of the clean-up. whatever anyone does so the world does not forget is a great cause no matter what it is as i find so many Americans are forgetting. I have a tatoo on my left arm with WTC 9-11 survivor. I cant tell you how many people ask me whats WTC stand for. Please tell this survivor how to obtain a medal so i can pass it on to my children and grandchildre. SO THEY DONT EVER FORGET THOSE THAT SERVED!!!!