S. 2229 — United States Foreign Service Commemorative Coin Act

This section states congressional findings on the history of U.S. diplomacy and the Foreign Service of the United States, including its origins in 1775; establishment of the Department of State in 1789; unification of the Diplomatic and Consular Services under the Rogers Act of 1924; subsequent updates via the Foreign Service Acts of 1946 and 1980; inclusion of interagency personnel; sacrifices of Foreign Service members honored on memorial plaques; support from the U.S. Marine Corps since 1775; and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training's oral history program, as well as the Foreign Service's 100th anniversary in 2024.

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue, in celebration of diplomacy and the Foreign Service, up to 50,000 $5 gold coins (weighing 8.359 grams, with a 0.850-inch diameter, and containing at least 90% gold), up to 400,000 $1 silver coins (weighing 26.73 grams, with a 1.500-inch diameter, and containing at least 90% silver), and up to 750,000 half-dollar clad coins (weighing 11.34 grams, with a 1.205-inch diameter, and minted to specifications in 31 U.S.C. 5112(b)). The coins are legal tender, as provided in 31 U.S.C. 5103, and are considered numismatic items for purposes of 31 U.S.C. 5134 and 5136 (i.e., subject to special design approval and premium pricing for sales).

This section requires designs for coins minted under the Act to be emblematic of the importance of diplomacy to the U.S. national interest and the creation of the Foreign Service and its contributions to modern diplomacy, with each coin bearing a designation of its value, the year “2029,” and the inscriptions “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” “United States of America,” and “E Pluribus Unum.” It further directs the Secretary to select the designs after consultation with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and the Commission of Fine Arts, subject to review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

This section authorizes the issuance of coins minted under this Act in uncirculated and proof qualities and limits such issuance to the one-year period beginning January 1, 2029.

This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury to sell coins issued under the Act at a price equal to their face value, the surcharge provided in section 7(a), and the costs of designing and issuing the coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). The section further requires bulk sales at a reasonable discount and acceptance of prepaid orders at a reasonable discount before issuance.

This section establishes surcharges of $35 per $5 coin, $10 per $1 coin, and $5 per half-dollar coin on sales of coins issued under the Act, with all surcharges paid promptly—subject to standard requirements—to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training to support the collection, curation, and sharing of U.S. diplomatic history (e.g., via oral histories, books, and social media). The Association is subject to specified audit requirements, and no surcharge applies to any coin issuance in a calendar year that would cause the number of commemorative coin programs issued that year to exceed the annual limit of two programs.

This section requires the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that (1) minting and issuing coins under this Act results in no net cost to the U.S. government; and (2) no funds, including surcharges, are disbursed to the recipient designated in section 7 until the Treasury recovers the total costs of designing and issuing all authorized coins (including labor, materials, dies, machinery use, overhead, marketing, and shipping).