31 USC 5132 – Administrative
(a)(1) Except as provided in this chapter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts amounts the Secretary receives from the operations of the United States Mint. Expenditures made from appropriated funds which are subsequently determined to be properly chargeable to the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund established by section 5134 shall be reimbursed by such Fund to the appropriation. The Secretary shall annually sell to the public, directly and by mail, sets of uncirculated and proof coins minted under paragraphs (1) through (6) of section 5112(a) of this title, and shall solicit such sales through the use of the customer list of the United States Mint. Except with respect to amounts deposited in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund in accordance with section 5134, the Secretary may not use amounts the Secretary receives from profits on minting coins or from charges on gold or silver bullion under section 5122 to pay officers and employees.
Terms Used In 31 USC 5132
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. Source: U.S. Mint
(2)(A) In addition to the coins described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall sell annually to the public directly and by mail, sets of proof coins minted under paragraphs (1) through (6) of section 5112(a).
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this paragraph—
(i) the coins described in paragraphs (2) through (4) of section 5112(a) shall be made of an alloy of not less than 90 percent silver; and
(ii) all coins minted under this paragraph shall have a mint mark indicating the place of manufacture.
(C) All coins minted under this paragraph shall be considered to be—
(i) numismatic items for purposes of paragraph (1) and section 5111(a)(3); and
(ii) legal tender, as provided in section 5103.
(D) The Secretary shall obtain silver for coins minted under this paragraph by purchase from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.). At such time as the silver stockpile is depleted, the Secretary shall obtain silver for such coins by purchase of silver mined from natural deposits in the United States or in a territory or possession of the United States not more than 1 year following the month in which the ore from which it is derived was mined. The Secretary shall pay not more than the average world price for such silver. The Secretary may issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this subparagraph.
(3) Not more than $54,208,000 may be appropriated to the Secretary for the fiscal year ending on September 30, 1993, to pay costs of the mints. Not more than $965,000 of amounts appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence shall remain available until expended for research and development.
(b) To the extent the Secretary decides is necessary, the Secretary may use amounts received from depositors for refining bullion and the proceeds from the sale of byproducts (including spent acids from surplus bullion recovered in refining processes) to pay the costs of refining the bullion (including labor, material, waste, and loss on the sale of sweeps). The Secretary may not use amounts appropriated for the mints to pay those costs.
(c) The Secretary shall make an annual report at the end of each fiscal year on the operation of the United States Mint.