Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8511L0680E01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-11-19

Were sales of the legal-tender Liberty Coins authorized by P.L. 99-61 subject to Texas sales tax?

Short answer: No. The Comptroller said the Liberty Coins authorized to support restoration of the Statue of Liberty were exempt from Texas sales tax.

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This page answers the general question as of 1985. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1985
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official 1985 Texas Comptroller taxpayer-response letter containing a short conclusion limited to the legal-tender Liberty Coins authorized by P.L. 99-61. It does not state a general rule for other coins, bullion, collectibles, or commemorative products. Current coin, currency, legal-tender, precious-metal, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Letters on STAR can support detrimental reliance only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued under 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The Comptroller said the new legal-tender Liberty Coins authorized by P.L. 99-61 to assist the national effort to restore the Statue of Liberty were exempt from Texas sales tax.

Common questions

Were the Liberty Coins taxable? No.

Which coins did this letter cover? The Liberty Coins authorized by P.L. 99-61.

Did it decide the treatment of other coins or bullion? No.

Citations and references

  • P.L. 99-61 — federal authorization for the Liberty Coins identified in the request.

Source

Original ruling text

November 19, 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your recent letter which is restated with response below:

Please advise whether or not the sale of the new Legal-Tender Liberty
coins authorized by P.L. 99-61 to assist in the national effort to
restore the Statue of Liberty will be subject to State of Texas sales tax.

Response: The Liberty Coins will be exempt from sales tax.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call us at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. You may write us at the
Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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