meeting. Solemnly, the commissioners measure the amounts of nonprecious metals in U.S. coins, and strike a medal to commemorate their activities. This useless exercise costs the taxpayers about $20,000 a year." As coin collector and columnist Gary Palmer put it in 1979, "who really cares if the weight of a cupro-nickel quarter is off by a grain or two?" On March 14, 1980, Carter approved legislation abolishing the Assay Commission, as well as the other two agencies, as recommended by his Reorganization Project. The President wrote in a signing statement that with the end of gold and silver coinage, the need for the commission had diminished. Numismatic leaders objected to the ending of the commission, considering the expense small and the tradition worth keeping, although they concurred the commission "had become an anachronism". At the time of its abolition, the Assay Commission was the oldest existing government commission. In 2000 and 2001, New Jersey Congressman Steven Rothman introduced legislation to revive the Assay Commission, stating that re-establishing the commission would assure public confidence in the gold, silver, and platinum bullion coins struck by the Mint. The bills died in committee. Functions and activities The general function of the Assay Commission was to examine the gold and silver coins of the Mint and ensure they met the proper specifications. Assay commissioners were placed on one of three committees in most years: the Counting, Weighing, and Assaying Committees. The Counting Committee verified that the number of each type of coin in packets selected from the pyx matched what Mint records said should be there. The Weighing Committee measured the weight of coins from the pyx, checking them against the weight required by law. The Assaying Committee worked with the Philadelphia Mint's assayer as he measured the precious metal content of some of the coins. In some years there was a Committee on Resolutions—in 1912, it urged that a leaflet be published for visitors to the Mint's coin collection, and that a medal be struck to commemorate the collection. The full Assay Commission adopted that committee's report. Congress in 1828 had required that the weights kept by the Mint Director be tested for accuracy in the presence of the assay commissioners each year. By statute passed in 1911, the commission was required to inspect the weights and balances used in assaying at the Philadelphia Mint, and to report on their accuracy. This included