Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar Monroe Doctrine Centennial, this coin does no credit to Beach's stature as a first-class artist. What the coin exudes in patriotism, it lacks in art." A total of 162,099 Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint in April and May, 1925, with 99 pieces set aside for inspection and testing by the 1926 Assay Commission. The coins were made from blanks, or planchets, that had been intended for mintage into 1924 Stone Mountain Memorial half dollars, but had not been used. The first coin struck was presented to President Coolidge. The half dollars were sold at the
Eisenhower dollar proof planchets were to be used for uncirculated "blue Ikes", but these were placed in the bin for rejected copper-nickel proof planchets, intended to be shipped to be coined for circulation at Denver. The 1977 pieces resulted from pieces rejected for Bicentennial silver proof use, which were again placed in the wrong bin (they should have been melted, as the Mint was no longer striking silver uncirculated Eisenhower dollars). Between 10 and 20 of each date are known. Wexler, Crawford, and Flynn report an even rarer 1776–1976-D dollar in silver, but state that none have been offered at auction or