In the wake of passage in the House of Representatives of his legislation creating a Mark Twain commemorative coin, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) will be in Hannibal next week to discuss the impact of the legislation on the local and regional economy and efforts to preserve the Mark Twain Museum.

Luetkemeyer will speak beginning at noon on Tuesday, May 15, at the Mark Twain Museum, 120 North Main Street in Hannibal. 
 
“I look forward to being in Hannibal to discuss the coin legislation that will serve as a way to expand economic opportunities for the people of Hannibal and communities,” Luetkemeyer said. “It also is an honor to continue my work in support of the Mark Twain Museum which continues to preserve and build on Mark Twain’s legacy throughout the world.” 
 
Luetkemeyer’s legislation creating a Mark Twain Commemorative Coin passed with significant bi-partisan support last month in the U.S. House, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration. Under the legislation, the U.S. Mint will produce for a limited time, $1 silver and $5 gold coins.  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 and other sites throughout the country. 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.