NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act

NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) 50 dollar gold coins; and (2) one dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL.

Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality, including the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and JPL, that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other metals that are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint.

Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality which retrieves any metals as described above should maintain accurate and complete records of the retrieval and deposit of any such metals sufficient to allow the Director to: (1) provide certificates of authenticity with coins issued under this Act that some proportion of the contents of such coins were obtained from craft or parts of crafts that flew in space; and (2) package with each issued coin a list of the missions in which such craft flew in space.

Directs each federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has or continues to conduct space-related missions, in addition to the efforts at retrieving metals described above, to make efforts to secure and retrieve from privately-held craft flown in space such gold, silver, copper, and other metals that the Director determines are appropriate for use in the production of any coins under this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality which retrieves any such metals should comply with the recordkeeping procedures described above with respect to such metal.

Requires the Secretary, in addition to the issuance of coins under this Act in such other methods of presentation that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, to provide, as a sale option, a presentation case that displays the $50 gold coin in the center surrounded by the one dollar silver coins in an elliptical orbit.

Requires that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a surcharge of $50 per coin for the $50 dollar coin and $10 per coin for the one dollar coin, which shall be promptly distributed as follows: (1) the first $1 million, to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties; and (2) of amounts available for distribution after such payment, half to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum, including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, and half to such Secretary for the express purpose of providing funding for the establishment of a new National Museum of Money.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bonze duplicates of the $50 gold coins authorized under this Act.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov