Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/2516

124 STAT. 2490 PUBLIC LAW 111–232—AUG. 16, 2010 Public Law 111–232 111th Congress An Act To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Star-Spangled Banner Commemo- rative Coin Act’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds as follows: (1) During the Battle for Baltimore of the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay on September 7, 1814, to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured after the British burned Wash- ington, DC. (2) The release of Dr. Beanes was secured, but Key and Beanes were held by the British during the shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore. (3) On the morning of September 14, 1814, after the 25- hour British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Key peered through the clearing smoke to see a 42-foot by 30-foot American flag flying proudly atop the Fort. (4) He was so inspired to see the enormous flag still flying over the Fort that he began penning a song, which he named The Defence of Fort McHenry, to commemorate the occasion and he included a note that it should be sung to the tune of the popular British melody To Anacreon in Heaven. (5) In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that the anthem, which had been popularly renamed the Star-Spangled Banner, be played at military and naval occasions. (6) On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a resolution of Congress that officially designated the Star- Spangled Banner as the National Anthem of the United States. SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. (a) $1 SILVER COINS.—The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall mint and issue the following coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner: (1) $5 GOLD COINS.—Not more than 100,000 $5 coins, which shall— (A) weigh 8.359 grams; (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Act. 31 USC 5112 note. Aug. 16, 2010 [H.R. 2097]