WASHINGTON – Legislation that would create a Purple Heart commemorative coin has been introduced in the US Senate by Charles Schumer.
The measure has already won approval in the House, advanced by Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney.
Because only two coins may be approved per year, Schumer’s measure would apply to 2022 while Maloney’s would have been for 2021.
Therefore, the original House bill will have to be modified to conform with the Senate version and timeline.
The measure would require the US Department of the Treasury to issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and 50-cent clad coins in honor of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor and of all service members – past and present – who have been wounded or killed in action.
Funds collected from the sale of the coins would go to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports those who have been awarded the medal.
The coins would be struck at the West Point Mint, adjacent to the US Military Academy.
The first Purple Heart medal, then called the Badge of Military Merit, was presented by General George Washington at the Hasbrouck House in the City of Newburgh in 1782.
