What Commemorative Half Dollars Were Released Into Circulation?

The following classic series US commemorative half dollars all had a significant portion of their mintage released into circulation:

- 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (but not the 1892-dated issue)
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial
- 1924 Huguenot-Walloon
- 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial
- Booker T. Washington (primarily 1946-dated coins)
- Carver-Washington (majority are thought to be 1951-P, 1952-P, 1953-S and 1954-S)

Not that I'm aware of - at least not in any meaningful quantity.

Though a mintage limit of 100,000 was authorized, the Maine Centennial Commission, the sponsor of the coin, ordered only 50,000. This was largely due to the fact that the coins were not going to be available from the Mint until after the state's official centennial celebrations had been held and the coin's sales potential was unknown.

Of the 50,000 received, approximately 60% (30,000) were sold in short order. The balance of 20,000 coins was held by the State Treasurer and sold for years afterward (with 1921 seeing the largest quantity sold). Bowers has reported that a small quantity was still available from the State Treasurer in 1929 for $1.00 each!

So, while it's possible that some Maine half dollars were placed into circulation by those who bought multiples of the coin, it does not appear that the coin's sponsor released bulk quantities at face value.