Mo. congressman proposes Mark Twain coin

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Legislation authorizing commemorative coins honoring Missouri-born writer Mark Twain has cleared the U.S. House.

The bill is sponsored by Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri's 9th Congressional District, which includes Twain's boyhood hometown of Hannibal. He says the writer is an important part of American history and that the coins would help preserve Twain's legacy.

The bill calls for the U.S. Mint to produce limited editions of $1 and $5 commemorative gold coins honoring Twain. The coins would be sold at prices tied to their face value and the cost of production, plus a surcharge.

The surcharge would benefit such sites as the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal and the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Conn., where he lived from 1874 to 1891.