On March 14, 2022, then United States Mint Deputy Director, who later became Director, Ventris C. Gibson announced that the Mint would not be issuing any Morgan Dollars or Peace Dollars in 2022 as originally planned and would suspend the program until 2023 due to issues with the supply chain for silver planchets.
“We’ll be required to make business decisions like this until the supply chain for silver blanks recovers from the disruptions caused by COVID-19,” Gibson said in a press release. “I want to be sure that our customers know,” she said, “that the modern renditions of the historic Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars will continue next year. Our goal is straightforward: to give our loyal customers the products they want and the service they deserve.”
Until this news was announced, the Mint was planning to issue proof versions of the Morgan and of the Peace dollars in 2022 and to hopefully allow collectors to purchase them with enrollments, which would enable collectors to get them without having to fight with other buyers on release date as happened in 2021.
There is no shortage of the silver itself, but rather because of the unusually high demand for silver since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, there is greater competition than usual from other world and private mints for a limited number of silver planchets.
2023 Silver Dollars
Then on June 29, 2022, a notice was published in the Federal Register with prices for several versions of the 2023 Morgan Dollar (Buy on eBay) and Peace silver dollars. This included uncirculated versions of each design for $67; proof versions of each design for $73; a two-coin reverse proof set with one of each dollar type priced at $175. Those prices may change by the time the coins are released.
In mid-July, the Mint surprised collectors by opening enrollments for each the Morgan and Peace dollar options and adding issue and household order limits. This included: 2023-P Morgan and Peace dollars with an uncirculated finish and a mintage limit of 275,000 each plus an order limit of 3; 2023-S Morgan and Peace dollars struck in proof with a mintage limit of 400,000 and order limit of 3; and the two-coin Reverse Proof 2023-S Morgan and Peace dollar sets with a mintage limit of 250,000 and limit of 3. 10% of each product’s mintage will be reserved for the 18 companies that are part of the Authorized Bulk Purchase Program begun in 2021. No release dates were made available.
As of July 27, the total number of enrollments were: 42,000 mint state coins; 48,000 proof coins and 50,000 of the two-coin sets. Those numbers should increase over the coming months.
2023-P Uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollar
- Maximum Mintage: 275,000 for each design
- Mint Mark: none
- Composition: .999 fine silver
- Weight: 26.73 grams
- Diameter: 38.1 millimeters
2023-S Proof Morgan Silver Dollar
- Maximum Mintage: 400,000
- Mint Mark: “S” (San Francisco)
- Composition: .999 fine silver
- Weight: 26.73 grams
- Diameter: 38.1 millimeters
2023 Reverse Proof Morgan and Peace Dollar Set
- Maximum Mintage: 250,000 sets
- Mint Mark: “S” (San Francisco)
- Composition: .999 fine silver
- Weight: 26.73 grams
- Diameter: 38.1 millimeters