Did the U.S. Mint Partially Implement My Suggestion?

The number of 2023-dated Kennedy half dollars struck by the U.S. Mint is far more than would be needed to satisfy customers who order them from the Mint in rolls and bags at premium prices or as part of mint sets.

As of July 2, the U.S. Mint reported roll and bag sales totaling 1,839,560 circulation strike Kennedy half dollars. Yet, as of July 5, the Philadelphia and Denver Mints had each struck 5.4 million of these coins, a combined total of 10.8 million.

Officially, the Mint last struck Kennedy half dollars for circulation in 2001. It has since struck uncirculated coins for sale to collectors, with combined Philadelphia and Denver annual mintages totaling 3.5 to 5 million. There would be no need to strike additional coins unless they were ordered by the Federal Reserve to put into circulation.

Since the quantity of 2023 Kennedy half dollars already struck is two to three times the quantities needed for collectors, one can infer that the additional coins are intended for circulation.

From 2016 through 2019, the U.S. Mint hosted a Numismatic Forum each October, inviting a small number of dealers, collectors, representatives of the numismatic media and other guests such as from the Royal Canadian Mint. It was my honor to attend all four of these events.

At the 2019 Numismatic Forum, which I described in my Oct. 31, 2019 column, I made a suggestion to two Mint officials to potentially increase numismatic interest. Since the Mint was authorized to strike more Kennedy half dollars beyond what was needed to sell to collectors, I suggested that a few million more of them be struck each year to be put into circulation.

Further, I told them that when U.S. Presidential dollars were struck for circulation through 2011, mintages exceeded 70 million coins for each president. The legislation that authorized the American Innovation dollar series specified that 4 million coins of each design be struck, but only sold to collectors and not placed into circulation. So, I suggested the possibility of amending this legislation to authorize an additional few million of each American Innovation dollar be struck to be put into circulation.

By issuing a modest number of halves and dollars into circulation, the Mint could increase its profits that it turned over to the U.S. Treasury each year. But, because there would be limited quantities of these coins that could be found in circulation, that could spark an increase in the number of coin collectors.

Both Mint officials liked the idea and directed me to submit this idea in writing, which I did.

Part of my suggestion for placing limited quantities of Kennedy half dollars and American Innovation dollars into circulation was that the Mint formally announce to the public that they were doing so.

The U.S. Mint has struck some excess Kennedy halves in some years before 2023 but has never publicly announced that they were being put into circulation. There has not yet been any such announcement for the 2023 halves.

My suggestion to the U.S. Mint back in 2019 may or may not have had any impact on the number of Kennedy half dollars struck in 2023. We may never know. However, if it did, I would urge Mint officials to issue a news release alerting the public to search for these coins.