Legislation calling for a silver dollar commemorating the Model T Ford and the 100th anniversary of Ford Motor Co.'s Highland Park, Mich., plant was introduced Feb. 14 in the U.S. Senate; the House version was expected to follow soon after.

The bill called for up to 500,000 silver dollars to be minted in 2010. The House bill is expected to be introduced by Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., In the Senate, the sponsors are Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, and Carl Levin, D-Mich. Both bills have identical language.

A $10 surcharge would be applied to the sale of each coin, the now traditional fund-raising amount. The funds raised would be divided. Half of up to $5 million would go to the Automobile National Heritage Area Partnership, Inc. The other half would go to the Edison Institute, otherwise known as "The Henry Ford" in Dearborn, Mich. Both organizations would be required to fund educational programs relating to the Model T.

The commemorative coin would honor the Model T's contribution to the industrialization of America, as well as the Highland Park assembly plant, which opened in 1910 to produce Model T Fords, exactly 100 years before the 2010 date the commemorative coin could carry.