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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;leeg, post: 3443921, member: 17073&quot;]<b>To the Acting Mint Director Mary O’Reilly from M.J. Kelly on July 24, 1923, regarding the Monroe Doctrine Half Dollars.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; Replying to your esteemed favor of the 19th, beg to advise that on date of June 6th, 1923 we wrote San Francisco as follows:</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; ‘Please advise us if it will be satisfactory to you, in case all of the Monroe Doctrine Centennial coins are unsold say by September let, [<i>sic</i>] to have them returned to the mint for melting up.</p><p><br /></p><p>These souvenir coins are being sold at one dollar each and we believe it will be better to have them returned than have them put on the market at fifty cents, in case there are any left over. We do not believe there will be any left over after the Exposition, but we want to be advised so as to know just what steps to take.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; Your cooperation in this matter will be appreciated.’</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; And in reply to same we received the following letter which we quote:</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; ‘I am in receipt of your letter of June 6th, 1923 and in reply to the same I will state that in case all of the Monroe Centennial coins are unsold we will receive them at the Mint for remelting. In connection with this matter I would quote from a letter of the Director of the Mint dated April 11, 1923s [<i>sic</i>]-</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; ‘In regard to the issue of special coins the experience of this Bureau has been that as a rule their sale by the parties interested has been extremely disappointing. In the case of two memorial coins recently issued several thousand coins have been returned to the mint as unsalable. We think there would fee [<i>sic</i>] no impropriety in suggesting to the agents of the Los Angeles Clearing House the prudence of calling for these coins in rather small quantities at first in order that large amounts may not be coined at once an left on our hands uncalled for. As they are presumably to be sold at a premium, in case coins are returned to the Mint they could not, in justice to those who have paid the premium, be placed in general circulation at face value. For this reason I would suggest that the Los Angeles Clearing House take the coins in small quantities at first and that you coin them only as they are called for.’</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp; I trust that you have not over ordered on these coins as in the remelting of the same not only is the original time and labor lost but considerable expense is incurred in the re-melting<b>. . .</b>”<b>10</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>10 <b><i>The Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins 1892-1954</i>, by Kevin Flynn, published by Kyle Vick, 2008, </b>p. 303-305.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Monroe%20Doctrine/Back%20of%20envelope%20Stacks%20Bowers%20%20A.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Back of official envelope. Courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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