Commems Collection Classic: Quick Bits 132 - Illinois Statehood Centennial / Interpreting Die Life

An interesting tidbit from the 1918 Report of the Director of the Mint:

Illinois Statehood Centennial Half Dollar

- Obverse Dies Used: 4
- Reverse Dies Used: 3

- Average Coins Struck per Die - Obverse: 25,346
- Average Coins Struck per Die - Reverse: 33,797

From these numbers, the total coins struck from the dies can be calculated:

- Total Coins Struck - Obverse: 101,384
- Total Coins Struck - Reverse: 101,391

Note: I'm going to ignore the minor difference between the Total Coins Struck for the Obverse Die vs. Reverse Die in my discussion. I chalk it up to some combination of rounding of reported Die Life Averages, a differential in Quality Control Rejects, and/or some other unimportant reason - the difference (7) is inconsequential and not an issue.

The Illinois Centennial Committee received 100,000 half dollars, the Mint reserved 58 for assay purposes and three Proof coins are reported to have been struck. These figures total 100,061 coins - Where are the approximately 1,300 additional half dollars that were struck?

The difference between the "struck" and "reported" numbers is approximately 1,325; this figure is ~1.33% over the target mintage, which is within the Mint's acceptable range for mis-strikes/errors and general overage. Coins, in whatever shape, beyond the 100,061 noted above were almost certainly melted and their silver reclaimed for other coinage - I've not seen documentation for "extra" coins being sent to the Centennial Committee beyond their Congressionally-authorized limit.

1918 Illinois Statehood Centennial Half Dollar