What does Mother’s Day, the Infantry, and Disabled Veterans have in common? They all had bills passed on Tuesday for the issuing of commemorative coins in their honor.

Following the death of her mother in 1905, Anna Marie Jarvis devoted her life to establishing Mother’s Day as a national, then international holiday. Although there were some celebrations, there were no holidays to celebrate mom. With the financial help of famed clothing merchant John Wanamaker, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother’s Day as a holiday in 1910. On May 14, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a presidential proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, Rep. Shelley Capito (R-WV) introduced, H.R. 2268, Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. The bill calls for thee striking of 400,000 silver dollars in 2014 where the “design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 100th anniversary of President Wilson's proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.” A surcharge of $10 will be split between Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

H.R. 2268 was passed by a voice vote in the House of Representatives. It must be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the president for his signature.

Another bill passed by the House and sent to the Senate is H.R. 3229, National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act. This bill calls for uncirculated and silver dollar commemorative coins, struck at the West Point Mint that would be “emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history of the United States Infantry.” Coins will be issued in 2012 and the $10 surcharge will “be paid to the National Infantry Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the maintenance of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center following its completion.”

On the other side of the Capital, H.R. 634, American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act , passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Introduced by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) and passed the House on May 15, 2007 by a 416-0 vote, the bill calls for the striking of 350,000 silver dollars whose design will be “emblematic of the service of our disabled veterans who, having survived the ordeal of war, made enormous personal sacrifices defending the principles of our democracy.” Coins will be issued in 2010. For this commemorative, the $10 surcharge will “be paid to the Disabled Veterans’ LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans’ Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, DC.” The bill passed with a minor technical change that must be approved by the House before it is sent to the President for his signature.

Interesting set of commemoratives for collectors.

Labels: coins, commemorative, legislative