community that the price was too high. Coin dealer Herby Skelton suggested in 1977 that the initial high price for the sets followed by the reduction, together with the large mintage of silver sets made the public suspicious and contributed to lagging sales. On August 20, 1975, the price for the uncirculated silver sets was reduced to when bulk purchases of 50 or more were made. A bank in Taiwan ordered 250,000 sets at this price. The first Bicentennial coins to be produced that were intended for the public were dollars, struck during February 1975. The first for collectors were struck at San Francisco on April 23, 1975. The San Francisco Assay Office struck the 45,000,000 silver coins first, producing eleven million sets in uncirculated and four million in proof, then began the base metal pieces. Once striking began, the Mint found that the copper nickel dollar was striking indistinctly, a problem not seen with the silver pieces. The Mint modified the dies; the most noticeable change is that the revised issue, or Type II as it came to be known, have narrower, sharper lettering on the reverse. All silver pieces (struck only at San Francisco) are Type I; all three mints struck both Type I and Type II copper nickel pieces. All dollars included in 1975 proof sets are Type I; all those included in 1976 proof sets are Type II. Bicentennial coins for collectors were not delivered until after July 4, 1975. The Bicentennial pieces, in base metal, were included in 1975 proof sets and mint sets together with 1975-dated cents, nickels and dimes. The new coins first entered circulation on July 7, 1975, when the half dollar was released in conjunction with ceremonies in Minneapolis, Huntington's hometown. The quarter followed in September and the dollar in October, each also with ceremonies to mark the issuance. The pieces were struck in numbers exceeding those needed for circulation; a Mint spokesman stated, "The theory in striking them was to have enough available so as many Americans as possible would have an opportunity to have a coinage commemoration of the Bicentennial year. They're mementos." In 1977, the Mint returned to the old reverse designs for the quarter, half dollar and dollar. Sales by mid-1977 had dropped off considerably, to perhaps 300 sets a week, with one Mint official describing the sales against the massive unsold quantities as "a drop in