U.S. Mint Deputy Director Richard A. Peterson said Aug. 7 that the bureau anticipates having 75,000 of the gold Proof 1964–2014-W Kennedy half dollars struck at the West Point Mint by Oct. 1.

The Mint facility had already struck 40,000 coins that were available for delivery when sales opened at noon Eastern Time Aug. 5. The Mint recorded first-day sales of nearly 57,000 coins. The coins are being offered for $1,240 each.

Speaking with Coin World at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont, Ill., Peterson said the West Point Mint is striking the 0.75-ounce .9999 fine gold half dollars at the rate of 6,000 per week and will continue to do so for several more weeks.

Peterson said the Mint has the ability to strike more than 100,000 gold half dollars, and will be striking coins to customer demand through Dec. 31. The Mint has not decided on a specific sales cutoff date, according to J. Marc Landry, the Mint’s acting associate director for sales and marketing.

Additional packaging for the gold half dollar has been ordered in contemplation of collector demand, Landry said. 

The Mint will have sufficient production time to fulfill all orders, he said. Production projections have been based on other limited editions.

Peterson and Landry said, however, that the availability of sufficient planchets will play a role in dictating production capabilities. The planchets are being supplied by Vennerbeck, Stern Leach from Providence, R.I., and Sunshine Minting from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Landry said the Mint is also expecting to release the four-coin 2014 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half Dollar Silver Coin Collection sometime in mid-October. The set is to be offered at $99.95 per set and will contain one silver half dollar from each of the four Mint production facilities — Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco and West Point — with each coin exhibiting a different finish.