Kennedy half dollar

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Obverse

Reverse

Bicentennial Kennedy half dollar reverse

Evolving from the Franklin half dollar, the Kennedy half dollar is a coin of the United States first minted in 1964. This coin was first struck in 1964 less than a year after the death of President John F. Kennedy. The front features the face of President John F. Kennedy on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. The obverse was designed by Gilroy Roberts and the reverse was designed by Frank Gasparro.

1 Specifications
2 Composition
3 History
4 Mints
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Specifications

Obverse design: President John F. Kennedy
Reverse design: The Coat of Arms of the President of the United States
Bicentennial reverse designer: Seth Huntington
Bicentennial reverse design: Independence Hall in Philadelphia
Edge: reeded
Diameter: 30.6 mm

[edit] Composition

The Kennedy half dollar was struck in 90% silver in 1964. The following year, this was changed to silver-clad, with the silver content lowered to 40%. In 1971, the composition was changed a final time, eliminating the silver, and using the copper-nickel clad standard common to the dollar, quarter, and dime. When the United States Mint started producing silver proof sets in 1992, the Kennedy half dollar included in them had the same composition as the coins of 1965-1970.

Silver issue (1964):

Weight: 12.5 g
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Silver content: 11.25 g (0.3617 troy oz)

Silver-clad issues (1965-1970, silver proof sets from 1992 to date):

Weight: 11.5 g (11.3 g for silver proofs 1992 to date)
Composition:

Outer layers: 80% silver, 20% copper

Inner layers: 20.9% silver, 79.1% copper
Silver content: 4.60 g (0.1479 troy oz)

Copper-nickel clad issues (1971 to date):

Weight: 11.34 g (0.4 oz avoirdupois)
Composition: 75% copper, 25% nickel

[edit] History

Extra pronounced hairlines on the early die state

Truncated serif die marker for the accented hair variety

The Kennedy half dollar replaced the Franklin half dollar within a year of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ironically, the new Kennedy design caused the slow disapearance of the half-dollar as a regular mainstream circulating coin, through a series of unrelated events. First, Collectors and even ordinary citizens hoarded the coins of 1964, due to the "new" design, & because President Kennedy was loved after his death as he never was in life. In 1965 Silver was eliminated from other coin denominations ( dimes & quarters became copper-nickel clad), but silver remained in the half-dollar. The "older" Franklin halves of 90% silver were quickly removed from circulation by collectors and hoarders, and since the public now hoarded silver coins, most of the 90% silver 1964's, as well as the 40% silver composition 1965-1970 halves saw little circulation as well. By time the Kennedy half dollar became "regular" copper-nickel clad in 1971, many banks, merchants were already used to no longer stocking and using the denomination as they were in the pre-1964 days. The half dollar has always circulated to some extent, but has yet to "bounce back" to the level of circulation it had in the years before 1964. Given the fact that the cash drawers of most merchants do not contain a place for quantities of half dollars, that most vending machines do not accept them, and that the dollar coin is smaller and is the subject of a push for acceptance, the half is likely to retain its limited circulation status.

In 1975 and 1976, the bicentennial half dollar was minted showing Independence Hall on the reverse. All of the bicentennial halves are dated "1776–1976." While the special half sparked some interest in the public, when the half returned to its regular design in 1977, it continued its decline in use and mintage. By 2002, the coins were no longer minted for commercial use, but only in special mint rolls, mint sets, and proof sets for collectors.

The 1964 proof coins were first minted with an "accented" or heavy hair incised about the ear which Jacqueline Kennedy supposedly disliked. After approximately 120,000 were minted the dies were revised and the hair slightly smoothed out. The "I" in "Liberty" also has a truncated bottom serif on the left side. The first die variety typically sells for about four times the latter type, although can be more expensive in top grade, since they seem to have often been poorly struck.

There is a significant demand for half dollars for use at casinos, where they can be used in paying off odd-dollar bets in blackjack and other games. For example, if a player gets "blackjack" at that game with a five-dollar bet, he is to be paid $7.50. Some casinos use a fifty-cent ceramic chip, though.

[edit] Mints

In 1964, the mint mark appeared on the reverse, under the eagle's left talon. Starting in 1968, mint marks appear above the second and third numbers in the date under Kennedy's neck. Mint marks as of 2005 include:

Blank (Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1964–1979
P (Philadelphia Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1980—
D (Denver Mint in Denver, Colorado)
S (San Francisco Mint in San Francisco, California)

All San Francisco Kennedy halves are proofs. Proof coins were minted at Philadelphia in 1964, but all other proofs were minted at San Francisco.

[edit] References

Yeoman, R.S. A Guide Book of United States Coins. Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2004.
Edler, Joel and Harper, Dave. U.S. Coin Digest. Iola: Krause Publications, 2004.