Token - Special mint set

“Special Mint Sets.” A Guide Book of United States Coins, by R. S. Yeoman et al., Whitman Publishing, LLC, 2017, pp. 362–363.
This token was issued in the Special mint sets (SMS) produced in 1966, which had coins dated 1965. These sets were issued in a pliofilm wrap, similar to contemporary proof sets. These sets were issued in place of the regularly scheduled proof sets, prompted by the nationwide shortage of circulating coinage, which was blamed on numismatists. In reality, the shortage was fueled by silver coins, which had been produced for over 150 years, all being pulled out of circulation for their bullion value. Sets dated 1965 were made from coins minted in 1966 at the San Francisco Assay office, now known as the San Francisco mint. In August of 1966, the 1966 dated coins began production. These coins went into hard plastic cases similar to the proof sets of today, but lacked the token. All SMS from any date could be bought directly from the mint for a then high price of $4. The mintage of each date is as follows:
1965: 2,360,000
1966: 2,261,583
1967: 1,863,344
Due to the declining interest in SMS over the two years of production, partially fueled by the higher prices ($4 compared to $2.10 for a 1964 proof set), less collectors bought multiples of the sets dated 1967, and this can be seen today by (mildly) higher prices in obtaining these sets. Regardless, each set is still relatively easy to obtain.