2023 Silver Dollars; 2022 Kennedy Halves in Circulation

After first publishing a notice in the Federal Register on June 28 with pricing for 2023 Morgan and Peace dollars, on July 8 the United States Mint opened enrollments for those coins on its website.

The 2023 silver dollars will include 2023-P Morgan and 2023-P Peace dollars with an uncirculated finish; 2023-S Morgan and 2023-S Peace dollars with a Proof finish; and a two-coin set with one of each type struck with a Reverse Proof finish at the San Francisco Mint. The mint state coins will be limited to a maximum mintage of 275,000 each; the Proofs to 400,000 each; and the sets to 250,000.

In addition, each buyer is limited to a maximum order of three of each product option.

It remains to be seen if the mintage limits are reached for these products through product enrollments, as they have been recently for American Women quarters and for several American Silver Eagle products. Many buyers who have learned the enrollments are now available have been placing orders for the maximum number of each option, figuring they could always change their minds later.

As for the mintage levels, it seems clear the U.S. Mint raised them for several reasons. First, in 2021 there was demand for more than the 175,000 that were available of each option, especially for the 2021-CC and 2021-O Morgan dollars and 2021-P Peace dollar. With the first two sold with maximum order limits of 10 each for those who managed to place orders plus the 10% that went to dealers in the bulk purchase program, the entire mintage disappeared quickly.

Second, with prices lower this year from $85 in 2021 to $67 for mint state and $73 for Proofs, the Mint likely needed to produce more coins to maximize revenue.

Third, the Proofs are widely expected to be very popular since most collectors do not have the financial means to acquire an original Proof Morgan and no Proof Peace dollars exist.

While it also remains to be seen how these changes to the program affect the secondary market for the 2023 silver dollars, kudos to the Mint for doing what it said as far as offering the second round of the coins through the enrollment process, which takes the stress out of ordering and worrying about missing out on coins you really want and good for them for doing this early.

These steps should help ensure that collectors who want the 2023 coins will have a chance to get them.

2022 Kennedy halves

On July 1, U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White said that the Federal Reserve has placed orders for 5.2 million circulation quality Kennedy halves, including 3 million produced at the Denver Mint and 2.2 million produced by the Philadelphia Mint. This step was taken due to a perceived demand for the coins in commerce.

Another 3.08 million coins were sold earlier this year by the Mint in rolls and bags sold on the Mint’s website at a premium. The 2-roll set with P and D coins is sold out, but the 200-coin bags of 2022 halves are available, and the rolls and bags are available for enrollments.

This is the second year in a row this has happened with the circulation quality coins having been ordered by the Federal Reserve and showing up a banks where collectors discovered rolls of 20 coins were available and $500 boxes of 50 rolls too apparently because the Federal Reserve determined there was demand for these coins in commerce.

From 2002 to 2020, these coins were only sold by the Mint in rolls and bags sold at a premium. Any other Kennedy halves from that period were part of annual mint and proof set offerings.

The Mint did not make an announcement about this development this year or last year. It was individual collectors who began noticing the coins were turning up at their local banks last year on the West Coast and later on the East Coast. That led the Mint last year to confirm in December 2021 that 10.3 million Kennedy half dollars, including 6.2 million 2021-D coins and 4.1 million 2021-P coins had been struck for circulation and shipped to the Federal Reserve, which delivered them to banks.

But by the end of 2021 the total for half dollars from both Mints reached 15,166,400 coins.

Sources:

www.usmint.gov

Paul Gilkes, “2022 halves in circulation,” Coin World, July 25, 2022