The U.S. Mint’s weekly sales report for the period ending August 23, 2026, delivered a rare surprise at the top of the leaderboard: a $60 medal that almost nobody saw coming. The 2026 Freedom 250 Race Medal, added to the Mint’s lineup with little advance fanfare just days before it went on sale, opened with 5,105 units sold more than a third of its 15,000-piece cap enough to outsell every coin program in the Mint’s catalog that week.
But the race medal wasn’t the only story. The same report gave collectors their first look at early sales for the 1776 ~ 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars, the first coins in the modern Morgan-Peace revival to carry an enhanced uncirculated finish. Pre-release figures already topped 81,000 Morgan dollars and 75,000 Peace dollars before the coins had even officially gone on sale. Meanwhile, the 2026-P Reverse Proof Morgan and Peace Dollars, released back on July 9, continued their steady climb, finishing third and fourth on the week’s top-sellers list.
Together, the numbers paint a picture of a Semiquincentennial year in which the Mint’s two most storied silver dollar designs and a scrappy, short-fused motorsports medal are all finding eager audiences at the same time.
Specifications at a Glance
| Product | Price | Mintage/Product Limit | Composition | Weight | Diameter | Mint Facility | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Freedom 250 Race Medal | $60 | 15,000 | Silver-colored medal struck on a half dollar planchet | Half-dollar planchet weight | Half-dollar diameter (~30.6 mm) | Philadelphia | Standard medal finish |
| 1776 ~ 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollar | $169 | 250,000 | .999 fine silver | 0.859 troy oz silver | 38.10 mm | West Point (no mint mark) | Enhanced Uncirculated |
| 1776 ~ 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated Peace Silver Dollar | $169 | 250,000 | .999 fine silver | 0.859 troy oz silver | 38.10 mm | West Point (no mint mark) | Enhanced Uncirculated |
| 2026-P Reverse Proof Morgan Silver Dollar | $173 | 180,000 | .999 fine silver | 0.859 troy oz silver | 38.10 mm | Philadelphia (P) | Reverse Proof |
| 2026-P Reverse Proof Peace Silver Dollar | $173 | 170,000 | .999 fine silver | 0.859 troy oz silver | 38.10 mm | Philadelphia (P) | Reverse Proof |
Edge: Reeded on all four silver dollar issues. All four dollar coins carry the dual date “1776 ~ 2026” and a one-year-only Liberty Bell “250” privy mark honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary. Sales figures and mintage ceilings are current as of the Mint’s weekly report for the period ending August 23, 2026, and are subject to change until each product’s ordering window closes or sells out.
Ordering and Buying Process
2026 Freedom 250 Race Medal
The race medal’s sales window is unusually tight by Mint standards. Ordering opened August 21, 2026 at noon ET and closes September 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. ET a span of exactly two weeks. The Mint has described the medal as being “produced to demand” during that window, but that phrase comes with a hard ceiling: both the mintage limit and the product limit sit at 15,000 pieces, and no additional medals will be struck once the window closes or the cap is reached, whichever comes first. Orders are expected to begin shipping around September 28, 2026. Each medal arrives encapsulated in a black presentation box bearing the official Mint seal.
Collectors should not assume they can wait until the final hours of the sale if orders reach 15,000 before September 4, the product will close early.
1776 ~ 2026 Enhanced Uncirculated Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars
Orders opened August 25, 2026 at noon ET, with the Morgan and Peace dollars sold as two separate products, each with its own item number and $169 price tag. A household order limit of 10 units per coin was put in place for the first 26 hours of sales, lifting at 2:00 p.m. ET the following business day (Wednesday, August 26). Both coins are struck at West Point but, notably, carry no mint mark an unusual choice that breaks from the “W” mint mark typically associated with West Point strikes.
2026-P Reverse Proof Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars
These coins launched earlier, on July 9, 2026, at noon ET, priced at $173 each and sold as individual products rather than as a combined set. A temporary household order limit of 10 coins per product applied during the first 24 hours. Both were struck at the Philadelphia Mint, marking the first time Morgan and Peace dollars in the modern series have carried a “P” mint mark. As of the most recent report, cumulative sales stood at 156,552 for the Morgan dollar and 142,730 for the Peace dollar, with both continuing to add several thousand units per week.
Collectors planning to pursue the full 2026 Morgan-Peace program should also note that a two-coin set with a special finish is expected from the Philadelphia Mint later this fall, alongside additional proof editions separate products with their own limits and release dates.
Historical Background
The Freedom 250 Race Medal and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix
Unlike the Mint’s coin programs, the race medal doesn’t trace back to a historic design it commemorates a brand-new event. The Freedom 250 Grand Prix, held August 22–23, 2026, marked the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race ever held in Washington, D.C., and organizers billed it as the first IndyCar street race in the nation’s capital. Drivers tackled a seven-turn, 1.7-mile street circuit winding past the Washington Monument, the U.S. Capitol, and along Pennsylvania Avenue. The race was originally planned for 125 laps, but INDYCAR extended the distance to 147 laps shortly before the event. The medal was folded into the Mint’s product lineup as part of the broader wave of Semiquincentennial-themed releases marking America’s 250th anniversary.
The Morgan Dollar (1878–1904, 1921)
The Morgan dollar owes its existence to political pressure, not popular demand. Silver-mining interests in the American West, hurt by falling silver prices after the Civil War and the Coinage Act of 1873 (which had halted silver dollar production), pushed Congress to act. The result was the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which required the U.S. Treasury to purchase between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver bullion each month and coin it into standard silver dollars. Mint Director Henry P. Linderman selected a design submitted by English-born assistant engraver George T. Morgan, who had modeled his allegorical figure of Liberty on Anna Willess Williams, a Philadelphia schoolteacher. The first Morgan dollars were struck on March 11, 1878.
Production continued through 1904, when the Treasury’s silver stockpiles were exhausted, and the coin sat dormant until the Pittman Act of 1918 required the government to replenish silver reserves bringing the Morgan dollar back for one final year in 1921 before the design was retired in favor of the Peace dollar. Over its original run, more than 650 million Morgan dollars were struck, and the design returned again in 2021 as a modern collector issue, a revival the 2026 Semiquincentennial coins now extend.
The Peace Dollar (1921–1928, 1934–1935)
The Peace dollar was conceived as a deliberate departure from its predecessor a coin meant to commemorate peace rather than politics. Following the end of World War I, the Mint held a design competition seeking imagery “emblematic of peace.” Sculptor Anthony de Francisci, an Italian American artist, won with a design that Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon approved in December 1921, allowing the coin to replace the Morgan dollar before that year was out. De Francisci based his portrait of Liberty on his wife, Teresa. The coin symbolized the United States’ emergence as a global power in the aftermath of the war while honoring the sacrifices of those who served. It was struck for circulation from 1921 through 1928 and again in 1934 and 1935, making it the last U.S. circulating dollar coin struck in 90% silver before its modern revival began in 2021.
Design Details: Obverse and Reverse
1776 ~ 2026 Morgan Silver Dollar (Enhanced Uncirculated and Reverse Proof)
Obverse: George T. Morgan’s classic profile of Liberty faces left, wearing a Phrygian cap decorated with cotton blossoms and wheat, topped by a crown inscribed “LIBERTY.” Thirteen stars and the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM” encircle the portrait. For the Semiquincentennial issues, the design adds the dual date “1776 ~ 2026” and a Liberty Bell privy mark bearing the numeral “250.”
Reverse: A heraldic eagle with outstretched wings clutches arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, framed by a large wreath. Inscriptions read “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “ONE DOLLAR.”
1776 ~ 2026 Peace Silver Dollar (Enhanced Uncirculated and Reverse Proof)
Obverse: Anthony de Francisci’s Liberty appears in profile wearing a radiant crown, her gaze turned toward the horizon. Inscriptions include “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRVST” (rendered with the historic “V” in place of “U,” matching the original 1921 design), and the dual date “1776 ~ 2026.”
Reverse: A bald eagle at rest perches on a rocky outcrop, holding an olive branch, positioned above the word “PEACE.” Additional inscriptions read “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “ONE DOLLAR.”
Both designs benefit differently from their respective finishes. The Morgan dollar’s dense hair detail, bold stars, and heraldic eagle give the reverse proof and enhanced uncirculated treatments plenty of texture to work with, producing sharp contrast between frosted devices and mirrored or satin fields. The Peace dollar’s broader, more open composition — with its dramatic sunburst crown and solitary eagle creates a quieter, more sculptural effect under the same finishes.
2026 Freedom 250 Race Medal
Obverse: An open-wheel Indy car inscribed “USA” is shown racing past a rendering of the U.S. Capitol, with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “FREEDOM 250” completing the design.
Reverse: Mint materials describe the medal as a Semiquincentennial-themed collectible celebrating open-wheel racing and the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix; full reverse imagery is available on the medal’s official Mint product page.
Why This Matters for Collectors
This week’s sales report is a useful snapshot of how differently the Mint’s various 2026 Semiquincentennial products are performing and why that matters for anyone building a collection or watching the secondary market.
- Scarcity with a hard deadline. The Freedom 250 Race Medal’s combination of a short, fixed ordering window and a comparatively low 15,000-piece cap is the kind of setup that tends to draw quick early interest, as this week’s results show. Collectors who wait too long risk missing out entirely if the medal sells out before September 4.
- A genuine series first. The enhanced uncirculated finish has never before been applied to a modern Morgan or Peace dollar, making these two coins a legitimate first for the series not just another finish variant. Combined with the unusual absence of a “W” mint mark on West Point strikes, that gives the issue some built-in numismatic significance beyond typical anniversary packaging.
- Sustained demand for reverse proofs. The Reverse Proof Morgan and Peace dollars, now more than six weeks into their sales run, are still adding well over a thousand units apiece most weeks. That kind of sustained momentum rather than a single strong opening often signals durable collector interest rather than short-term speculation.
- A crowded release calendar. With enhanced uncirculated coins now shipped, reverse proofs still selling, and both a two-coin set and additional proof editions still to come this fall, 2026 is shaping up as one of the busiest years yet for the modern Morgan-Peace program. Collectors aiming to complete the full set should plan their budgets and household order limits accordingly.
Quick-Reference Buying Guide
- Decide which products you want. The Freedom 250 Race Medal, the Enhanced Uncirculated Morgan and Peace dollars, and the Reverse Proof Morgan and Peace dollars are four separate purchasing decisions with different prices, deadlines, and mintage caps.
- Check the ordering window before you buy. The race medal closes September 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET; the enhanced uncirculated dollars and reverse proofs do not have fixed closing dates but are capped at fixed mintages and can sell out.
- Watch for household order limits. New releases typically carry a temporary per-household limit (10 units for both the enhanced uncirculated and reverse proof dollars) that lifts after 24–26 hours — factor this in if you’re buying multiples.
- Order early if a product has a hard cap. Products like the race medal (15,000) and the two silver dollar mintage limits (250,000 each) can close before their stated end date if demand is strong.
- Confirm mint marks and finishes match what you want. The West Point enhanced uncirculated dollars carry no mint mark, while the Philadelphia reverse proofs carry a “P” don’t assume all 2026 dual-date dollars are identical.
- Buy directly from the U.S. Mint’s website (usmint.gov) to guarantee authenticity and original packaging, including the certificate of authenticity included with each coin.
- Track weekly sales reports to gauge momentum and remaining headroom under each mintage cap before deciding whether to buy now or wait.
- Budget for the full program if you’re a completist. A two-coin Morgan-Peace set with a distinct finish and additional proof editions are expected later this fall plan your spending across the full year rather than committing everything to the first releases.
Sales figures reflect the U.S. Mint’s weekly report for the period ending August 23, 2026. Prices, mintage limits, and availability are subject to change; always confirm current details on the U.S. Mint’s official website before ordering.
