The United States Mint will begin sales of the series of National Purple Heart Hall of Honor commemorative coins later today. Sales will begin at Noon Eastern, 9:00 AM Pacific on the Mint’s site. Technically today’s sale is a pre-order process. The Mint has indicated that it will be June 8, 2022. Introductory pricing will be in effect until March 24th at 3:00 PM Eastern.
The only exception to this release is the colorized silver dollar. That coin is still listed as TBD. It is not clear if that was an oversight by the Mint or is a scheduled delay due to production.
The Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces who has been wounded or killed by enemy action. Since World War I, it has been awarded to an estimated 1.8 million servicemen and servicewomen.
The Purple Heart’s history reaches back to the American Revolution. In 1782, General George Washington gave orders establishing the Badge of Military Merit to honor merit among soldiers in the Continental Army. Washington stated that the award was to be a permanent one, but once the Revolution ended, it was all but forgotten until the 20th century. General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing suggested a need for a merit award in 1918, but it wasn’t until 1932 that the modern Purple Heart was created in recognition of Washington’s ideals and for the bicentennial of his birth.
On May 28, 1932, 136 World War I veterans were conferred their Purple Hearts at Temple Hill, in New Windsor, New York. Temple Hill was the site of the New Windsor Cantonment, which was the final encampment of the Continental Army in the winter of 1782-1783.
Originally the Purple Heart was awarded for merit. With the creation of the Legion of Merit in 1942, awarding the Purple Heart for merit was discontinued.
The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor opened in 2006 to share the stories of courage and sacrifice of Purple Heart recipients. It is located at the site of the New Windsor Cantonment.
United States Mint
The pricing for the sales that begin on February 24th below reflects a discounted price of $5 that will be honored until March 24th. Here is break down of the pricing schedule along with links to those coins or sets on the Mint’s Production Schedule. You will also find the mintage limit that the Mint has set for each product:
- Colorized Silver Dollar (400,000) – $95.00 (Note, this product does not have an introductory discount and is still listed as TBD)
- $5 Gold Proof Coin (50,000) – $681.25
- Proof Half Dollar (750,000) – $35.00
- Proof Silver Dollar (400,000) – $74.00
- Three-Coin Proof Set (5,000 Product Limit) – $799.50
- $5 Gold Uncirculated Coin (50,000) – $671.25
- Uncirculated Half Dollar (750,000) – $33.00
- Uncirculated Silver Dollar (400,000) – $69.00
Coin prices include surcharges of $35 for each $5 gold coin, $10 for each silver dollar, and $5 for each clad half dollar. The Public Law authorizes the Mint to pay the surcharges to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, Inc., to support its mission and for capital improvements to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.