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HR 1719 113th Congress House

Cents and Sensibility Act

Official title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to save the American taxpayers money by immediately altering the metallic composition of the one-cent, five-cent, dime, … Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to save the American taxpayers money by immediately altering the metallic composition of the one-cent, five-cent, dime, and quarter dollar coins, and for other purposes.

Introduced: April 24, 2013 See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Buy American requirementsCurrencyMetalsPublic contracts and procurement
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 24, 2013
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Apr 24, 2013
Introduced in House
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 Latest action April 24, 2013

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Cents and Sensibility Act - Requires that the one-cent, five-cent, dime, and quarter-dollar coins be: (1) produced primarily of steel, and (2) treated to impart a color so that its appearance is similar to coins produced before enactment of this Act.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in minting such coins, to use only steel produced in the United States unless: (1) the Secretary determines doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest, or (2) an adequate supply of the appropriate grade of steel is not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities.

Prohibits the Secretary, in setting specifications for such coin, from: (1) requiring more than one change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to accommodate all coins produced pursuant to this Act; (2) facilitating or allowing the use of a coin with a lesser value produced by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a circulating coin produced by the Secretary; or (3) requiring non-trivial changes to coin-accepting or coin-handling equipment to easily accommodate continued co-circulation of both coins produced with the new specifications and coins produced on or before a specified date.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1719: Cents and Sensibility Act. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1719/
MLA
"H.R. 1719: Cents and Sensibility Act." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1719/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1719, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1719/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1719: Cents and Sensibility Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-HR-1719/)
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