Half dollar (United States coin)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Half Dollar (United States)
Value:	0.5 U.S. dollar
Mass:	11.340 g (0.365 troy oz)
Diameter:	30.61 mm (1.205 in)
Thickness:	2.15 mm (0.085 in)
Edge:	150 reeds
Composition:	91.66% Cu 8.33% Ni
Years of Minting:	1971–1974; 1977–present
Catalog Number:	-
Obverse

Design:	John F. Kennedy
Designer:	Gilroy Roberts
Design Date:	1964
Reverse

Design:	Presidential Seal
Designer:	Frank Gasparro
Design Date:	1964

The Half Dollar of the United States, sometimes known as the fifty-cent piece, has been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Mint in 1794. The only US coin that has been minted on a more consistent basis during this time-frame is the cent. However, the half dollar's circulation, aside from use in some casinos, has declined significantly.

This is primarily due to a confluence of two events: the silver crisis of 1963, and the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The value of silver had risen by 1962-63 to the point that it became worthwhile to melt down US coins for their bullion value. Silver coins (those of ten cent value and above) began to disappear from circulation, leading the United States to change to a layered composition coin made of a copper core laminated between two cupro-nickel faces for the 1965 coinage year. The Kennedy half-dollar design, however, was minted in a silver-clad composition in 1965–1970. Some treasury pundits have referred to the coin as the "fitty", mostly as a dismissive term reflecting the lack of usage in today's currency.

Initially the Kennedy halves were hoarded for sentimental reasons and because they were recognized as the only precious metal US coin remaining in circulation. By the time mintage figures could match normal demand and the coin's composition was changed to match the rest of the coinage, both businesses and the public had adapted to a world in which the half dollar did not circulate. Other uses had been found for the half-dollar section of the cash drawer. People had gotten used to depending on quarters as the major component of change.

Most coins enter circulation through the change drawers of businesses. Hardly any businesses stock their change drawers with half dollars or dollar coins, so the coins do not circulate.

[edit] List of designs

Silver half dollars
- Flowing Hair 1794–1795
- Draped Bust 1796–1807
  - Draped Bust, Small Eagle 1796–1797
  - Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle 1801–1807
- Capped Bust, 1807–1839
- Seated Liberty 1839–1891
  - Seated Liberty, No Motto 1839–1866
  - Seated Liberty, With Motto 1866–1891
- Barber 1892–1915
- Walking Liberty 1916–1947
- Franklin 1948–1963
- Kennedy 1964, 1992–Present (Proof Only)
40% silver half dollars
- Kennedy 1965–1970
- Kennedy 1976
Copper-nickel clad half dollars
- Kennedy 1971–1974, 1977–2002, 2003–Present (issued for collectors only, not in circulation)
  - Kennedy Bicentennial 1975–1976 (all were dated 1776-1976)