In a bipartisan effort to recognize Mark Twain’s literary legacy and his connections to Hannibal, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) is sponsoring legislation, along with U.S. Rep. John Larson (CT-1), creating the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin that will not cost taxpayers a dime, but will provide funding for Mark Twain historical sites across the United States.

 “A true American figure, Mark Twain’s life and legacy is an important part of our country’s history,” Luetkemeyer said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this legislation that helps strengthen and continues Mark Twain’s literary legacy, and will provide support to organizations that honor his contribution to American history.”

“Mark Twain’s writing has left an indelible mark on the history of our country and our state,” Larson said. “By creating these coins we not only honor Twain for his contributions to our country, but we also continue to support the organizations that preserve his legacy every day. And that is something worth working to ensure.”

Commemorative coins are manufactured and marketed by the U.S. Mint at no cost to taxpayers. Under the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act the U.S. Mint will produce for a limited time, $1 silver and $5 gold coins to honor Mark Twain’s contribution to American history.  The sale price of each coin will be calculated at the combined total of each coin’s respective face value, production and design costs, and a surcharge remitted by the U.S. Treasury to the recipient organizations, thereby costing taxpayers nothing.  Sites benefiting from the surcharge include the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York and the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley, California.

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal commemorates the childhood of a man who grew up to be one of the most recognized names in literature. Twain would eventually move to Hartford, Connecticut, where he settled down, built a house and began to work on what would become his most famous work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Hartford is home to the Mark Twain House & Museum, and dedicated to educating people across the nation and around the world about Twain, his works and the time period in which he lived.

In New York, the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College breathes new life into the history of Mark Twain, offering fellowships for research on the author. The Center also hosts a quadrennial Mark Twain conference. The Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of the University of California houses the Mark Twain papers, an extensive archive of virtually every document in Mark Twain’s hand known to survive.

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