United States Bicentennial Coinage - Production

Production

On August 12, 1974, the three designers were at the Philadelphia Mint, where they ceremonially operated the presses to strike the first coins bearing their designs. These prototypes were exhibited under armed guard at the American Numismatic Association convention in Florida the next day. They differ from all other Bicentennial coins in that they were struck in silver proof without mint mark; other silver proof coins bear an "S" mint mark as struck at the San Francisco Assay Office (as the San Francisco Mint was then known). Sets of these prototypes were presented to President Gerald Ford, Counselor to the President Anne Armstrong and Director John Warner of the American Revolutionary Bicentennial Administration (the successor to the ARBC). All other first strikes were melted, with copies not even kept for the National Numismatic Collection.

The Mint believed that if it was required to strike 1975 quarters, half dollars and dollars, not enough could be struck before it had to begin the Bicentennial issues to prevent the 1975 pieces from becoming collector's items. This risked coin shortages at a time when the Mint was seeking to build a surplus of quarters. Mint officials returned to Congress to seek amending legislation. President Ford signed a bill on December 26, 1974 that made several noncontroversial changes to law, including provisions to allow the Mint to keep striking 1974-dated pieces until it began striking the Bicentennial coins. By terms of the amending legislation, the commemorative coins could not be issued until after July 4, 1975.

On November 15, 1974, the Mint began taking orders for the silver clad pieces, at a price of $15 for proof sets and $9 for uncirculated, with a deadline for orders of January 31, 1975. Uncirculated coins are like those newly released into circulation; proof coins have a mirror finish. Buyers were initially limited to five sets per person. On January 19, 1975, Brooks announced that the silver proof set price was cut to $12, and the order limit was waived. Buyers who had paid the higher price were sent refunds by check. On August 20, 1975, the price for the uncirculated silver sets was reduced to $7 when bulk purchases of 50 or more were made. A bank in Taiwan ordered 250,000 sets at this price. The Bicentennial pieces, in base metal, were included in 1975 proof sets and mint sets together with 1975-dated cents, nickels and dimes.

The first Bicentennial coins to be produced that were intended for the public were dollars, struck during February 1975. The first for collectors were struck at San Francisco on April 23, 1975. The San Francisco Assay Office struck the 45,000,000 silver coins first, producing eleven million sets in uncirculated and four million in proof, then began the base metal pieces. Once striking began, the Mint found that the copper nickel dollar was striking indistinctly, a problem not seen with the silver pieces. The Mint modified the dies; the most noticeable change is that the revised issue, or Type II as it came to be known, have narrower, sharper lettering on the reverse. All silver pieces (struck only at San Francisco) are Type I; all three mints struck both Type I and Type II copper nickel pieces. All dollars included in 1975 proof sets are Type I; all those included in 1976 proof sets are Type II. Bicentennial coins for collectors were not delivered until after July 4, 1975.

The new coins first entered circulation on July 7, 1975, when the half dollar was released in conjunction with ceremonies in Minneapolis, Huntington's hometown. The quarter followed in September and the dollar in October, each also with ceremonies to mark the issuance. The pieces were struck in numbers exceeding those needed for circulation; a Mint spokesman stated, "The theory in striking them was to have enough available so as many Americans as possible would have an opportunity to have a coinage commemoration of the Bicentennial year. They're momentos."

In 1977, the Mint returned to the old reverse designs for the quarter, half dollar and dollar. By 1979, the Mint anticipated an eventual sellout for the silver proof set, but admitted that with massive quantities unsold, there was no realistic possibility of selling all uncirculated silver sets. On September 17, 1979, faced with a spike in silver prices, Mint Director Stella B. Hackel announced that the sets were being removed from sale. They were returned to sale in August 1980, at increased prices of $20 in proof and $15 in uncirculated. In September 1981, the Mint, citing a decline in the price of silver, reduced the price of the sets to $15 in proof and $12 in uncirculated. A limit of 100 sets per person was set on proof sales, with none on uncirculated. A large number of sets were melted by the government in 1982. On December 31, 1986, the remaining Bicentennial uncirculated silver sets were removed from sale. At the time, it was announced that proof sets had already sold out when coins went off sale. However, Marotta, writing in 2001, stated that when sales ceased, 400,000 proof sets and 200,000 uncirculated sets remained in inventory.

Due to the large quantities struck, Bicentennial coins remain inexpensive. A set of three silver coins contains .5381 troy ounces of the precious metal. In a 1996 statistical study, T.V. Buttrey found that about 750,000,000 of the circulation quarters, more than a third, had been hoarded and did not circulate.

The total coinage by striking mint is shown below: