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John F. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961, and served just over 1,000 days until his assassination in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons. Click image to enlarge.

On November 22 of every year, millions reflect on the dark day in 1963 that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade procession in Dallas, Texas. Days after the death of Kennedy at just 46 years old, wheels began turning toward honoring the late commander-in-chief on a large silver coin.

Mint officials had considered the quarter as the canvas for a new Kennedy coin. However, Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, insisted on placing her late husband’s portrait on the half dollar; she did not want to displace the likeness of the nation’s first president, George Washington, from the quarter.

The Kennedy Half Dollar saw expeditious approval in the weeks after Kennedy’s assassination, with the first halves paying tribute to the fallen president being struck early in 1964. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Honoring Kennedy on the Half Dollar

Director of the United States Mint Eva Adams enlisted Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts to begin working on designs for the new Kennedy Half Dollar as legislative protocol to approve the new coin gained traction on Capitol Hill. Replacing the Franklin Half Dollar with a new coin honoring Kennedy would take an act of Congress as the Franklin Half Dollar had been in production for only 16 years; United States coinage law requires a coin design to be at least 25 years old before it could be changed without congressional approval.

As congress members and senators moved the proposal for the Kennedy Half Dollar toward approval, Roberts and mint sculptor-engraver Frank Gasparro whittled away at models for the new coin. Time short in supply, Roberts and Gasparro appropriated their designs from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Series Medal they collaborated on during the president’s truncated time in the Oval Office. Roberts adapted his bust of Kennedy from the obverse of the medal while Gasparro used a visage of the Great Seal as seen on both the presidential series medal and a 1962 John F. Kennedy Appreciation Medal he designed.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Medal showcases the Gilroy Roberts obverse that the United States Mint chief engraver eventually used for the obverse of the Kennedy Half Dollar. Note the reverse by Frank Gasparro shows a miniature version of the Great Seal that Gasparro utilized on the reverse of the Kennedy Half Dollar. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

By December 30, the bill authorizing the new Kennedy Half Dollar was approved, and dies for the new coin were just a few days from completion. Proof versions of the new half dollar were produced after the dies were ready for use at the Philadelphia Mint on January 2, 1964. Circulation strikes hitting presses at the Denver Mint about four weeks later, on January 30. Business strikes came online at the Philadelphia Mint during the first days of February, and both the Philly and Denver Mints held ceremonial first strike events on February 11, 1964.

The reverse of the 1962 John F. Kennedy Appreciation Medal shows the Great Seal as designed by Frank Gasparro; the sculptor-engraver would borrow this device when designing the reverse of the Kennedy Half Dollar. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Reception of the New Kennedy Coin

Scores of Americans lined up at banks along the Eastern Seaboard and beyond on March 24, 1964, which was the day Kennedy Half Dollars were officially released to the public. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., quickly sold out of the 70,000 Kennedy Half Dollars allocated for sale that day through the office’s public windows.

Most loved the coins, which were widely received as silver mementos of the fallen president. However, some conspiracy theorists raised ire over what they thought was the appearance of a hammer and sickle – representing the communist Soviet Union – under the bust of Kennedy. Gilroy Roberts quickly dispelled these claims by noting the design element was his initials, “GR,” in a stylized monogram.

The stylized monogram incorporating the letters “FG,” the initials for designer Gilroy Roberts, caused a stir among conspiracy theorists who thought it was hammer-and-sickle iconography of communist Russia. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Any rumors about a numismatic red scare on the Kennedy Half Dollar didn’t concern most Americans though. The new coin was so popular that many banks – let alone coin dealers – couldn’t keep the coins in their inventory for long. The new silver coin was being hoarded by the public left and right, and it wasn’t just mourning Americans or fervent coin collectors who were keeping the new coins. Bullion stackers, compelled by rising silver prices, were also stashing away untold millions of 1964 Kennedy Half Dollars and other 90% silver coins due to their intrinsic value rivaling and soon exceeding their face value.

The composition of the Kennedy Half Dollar was debased from a 90% silver composition to a 40% silver clad profile in 1965. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

The situation had led to a coin shortage, with the near disappearance of half dollars from circulation altogether. The U.S. government sought a base-metal alternative for the nation’s circulating coins, debasing the nation’s 90% silver coins with a copper-nickel clad composition and striking half dollars from a 40% silver clad profile beginning in 1965. Six years later, in 1971, circulating half dollars were first struck in copper-nickel clad.

Circulating Kennedy Half Dollars have been struck from copper-nickel clad since 1971. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Disappearance from Circulation

By the mid-1970s, the Kennedy Half Dollar had become a novelty in circulation. The idea among much of the public that all Kennedy Half Dollars – even the copper-nickel clad examples – were worthy of holding aside effectively kept the coin from circulating. Mintage figures from the 1970s and early 1980s bear this out, with government output of circulating coinage responding to commerce demands. After the release of the 1776-1976 Bicentennial Half Dollar, half dollar mintages tumbled.

The 1776-1976 Bicentennial Half Dollar, bearing a special reverse design of Independence Hall as envisioned by Seth Huntington, marks the highwater mark of production for the series. Though more than half a billion Bicentennial Half Dollars were struck, mintages for the series began plunging in the late 1970s and beyond. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Beginning in 2002, half dollars were relegated to numismatic production only. Still, the half dollar remained a legal-tender coin. And even half dollars produced from 2002 on without intention for circulation ended up in the wild anyhow. Many roll searchers have frequently reported finding dates from 2002 on in rolls straight from financial institutions around the country.

Lo and behold, the U.S. Treasury began ordering half dollars for circulation again in 2021. No explanation has been given to the public as to why half dollars were suddenly being struck for circulation after a nearly 20-year absence. Few if any of these new half dollars are turning up in change during cash transactions at points of purchase. However, some speculate that the increasing popularity of roll searching among the public has led to more banks ordering half dollars for customers. This, in turn, may be triggering the U.S. Treasury to believe there is commerce “demand” for the coin again.

Collecting Kennedy Half Dollars

Kennedy Half Dollars have been among the most popular collectible U.S. coins since the series was released in 1964. Out of the gate, collectors had four coins to pursue, with the Philadelphia and Denver business strikes, along with the Accented Hair proof and regular proof. As the series began winding through the 1970s and ‘80s, more and more entries made enhanced the degree of numismatic complexity in building a complete set.

The 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar, struck only for inclusion in United States uncirculated sets, is considered a key date by collectors. The coin has a mintage of 2,150,000. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Consider among these numismatically intriguing coins the non-circulating 1970-D business strike, the various clad and 40% silver 1776-1976 business strikes and proofs, and the Type I and Type II “S” mintmark varieties among the proof halves of 1979 and 1981. Also of note are the many die varieties of interest to series enthusiasts. Just a handful include the 1964-D Doubled Die and Quadrupled Die Obverses, 1964-D/D Repunched Mintmark, 1966 SMS Doubled Die Obverse, and 1974-D Doubled Die Obverse.

Comparison of the Type I and Type II “S” mintmarks on the proof 1979-S Kennedy Half Dollars. Courtesy of PCGS. Click image to enlarge.

Widely considered the most significant doubled die in the Kennedy Half Dollar series, the 1974-D Doubled Die Obverse is most easily attributed by notable spread in the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST,” with the most prominent doubling in the word “TRUST.” Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

Also of note are the so-called No-FG half dollars lacking the reverse designer initials “FG” symbolizing Frank Gasparro’s artistic contributions to the coin. PCGS recognizes three No-FG dates, including the 1966 SMS No FG, 1972-D No FG, and 1982-P No FG. No discussion about Kennedy Half Dollar varieties would be complete without mention of the 1998-S Matte, which was included in a special two-coin set that also included that year’s Kennedy Collector’s Set, which also encompassed a commemorative 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Silver Dollar. These two-coin sets were issued for $59.95 and saw brisk sales eclipsing the 60,000 mark.

The No FG Kennedy Half Dollars recognized by PCGS are the 1966 SMS No FG, 1972-D No FG (pictured here in the reverse comparison), and 1982-P No FG. Courtesy of PCGS. Click image to enlarge.

Then there was the media sensation known as the 2014-W 50th Anniversary Gold Kennedy Half Dollar. The coin marked the golden anniversary of the Kennedy Half Dollar and became the first United States Mint half dollar struck from gold. The three-quarter-ounce coin containing .999-fine gold was released by the United States Mint on August 5, 2014, in concert with the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money, which was being held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois – just outside Chicago. While the new gold half dollar was being sold at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints as well as the United States Mint headquarters in Washington, D.C., the big buzz was at the convention center. That’s where crowds lined up to buy the coin right on the floor of the show at the United States Mint booth.

The 2014-W Gold Kennedy Half Dollar was the first official gold coin struck by the United States Mint denominated to 50 cents. It was a huge seller during the coin’s 50th anniversary in 2014. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

The proof coin was issued by the United States Mint for $1,240, but the coin had been highly anticipated for months. Many in the public beyond the fourth wall of numismatics knew about it, adding to the frenzy over the gold Kennedy Half Dollar in its first days. Demand for and limited access to the coin drove secondary-market prices beyond $2,500 within hours of the half dollar’s release. One important footnote highlighting the coin’s popularity is summed up this way: the first specimen sold at the coin show in Chicago was graded PCGS PR70DCAM and was transacted in a private sale for $100,000! Thankfully collectors can acquire a nice example of the 2014-W Gold Kennedy Half Dollar today for less than six figures. A total of 73,772 gold halves were distributed by the U.S. Mint – just shy of the 75,000 authorized for production, making the coin common enough to be obtainable for prices in the vicinity of their melt value.

Kennedy Half Dollars on the PCGS Set Registry

The collector is never without exciting options designed for all budgets and levels of numismatic challenge when it comes to building an assemblage of Kennedy Half Dollars on the PCGS Set Registry! There are no fewer than 22 PCGS Registry Sets specifically dedicated just to Kennedy Half Dollars, not even including other categories, like type sets, that also accommodate the coin.

There are more than half a dozen types of major sets that follow the vein of date-and-mintmark collections inclusive of all the different business-strike, proof, and specimen strikes. And then there are a multitude of specialty sets that run the gamut of niches, including categories designed just for the proofs, a short set of the silver strikes from the 1960s and early 1970s, and several sets themed around the numerous varieties that PCGS recognizes for the series. Truly, there is a Kennedy Half Dollar category for just about everyone on the PCGS Set Registry, providing exciting opportunities for all who collect this popular series.

It's enough to make collectors who may not typically pursue this series look again. While shorter sets and basic date-and-mintmark categories may be within the financial reach of a great many collectors, those with bigger pocketbooks or ample tolerance for a real numismatic test might pursue some of the more complex categories.

For example, the Kennedy Half Dollars Complete Variety Set, Circulation Strikes and Proof (1964-Present) requires 284 coins, more than 50 of which are die varieties – many obscure but nevertheless important to series enthusiasts and necessary to complete the set. One issue necessary for this set is often considered an absolute stopper: the 1964 SMS. This coin, which offers perhaps a dozen specimens, usually trades for beaucoup bucks. On the rare opportunity this coin hits the auction block, hammer prices trend north of $50,000. A top-graded specimen is easily a six-figure coin. Even if a collector had this ultra-rare (and expensive) coin, they would still need to acquire many other difficult coins – including PCGS-recognized but relatively unknown doubled dies – to finish the set.

The 1964 SMS Kennedy Half Dollar is an elusive rarity, with a record price of $156,000 achieved in a 2019 Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView. Click image to enlarge.

As of this writing, nobody on the PCGS Set Registry has completed this set. Might the first be you?

If the Complete Variety Set, Circulation Strikes and Proof (1964-Present) set seems a little overwhelming, don’t worry – there are plenty of other sets from which to choose! And that’s the beauty of collecting Kennedy Half Dollars on the PCGS Set Registry. The possibilities are virtually endless. And that holds true for the Kennedy Half Dollar regardless of how you collect the coin.

The Future of the Kennedy Half Dollar

The Kennedy Half Dollar is a coin as much for the specialist as the masses, one with something to offer anyone who has a love for this modern coin that became interwoven in the fabric of American numismatics a long, long time ago. As we mark 60 years with the Kennedy Half Dollar, we can also look forward to this special coin being with us in some form or fashion well into the foreseeable future.

Production of the Kennedy Half Dollar continues in 2024 and will remain a fixture among U.S. coinage for the foreseeable future. Courtesy of the United State Mint. Click image to enlarge.

The 2026 Semiquincentennial, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, will call for special designs honoring the nation’s birthday, followed by a four-year series honoring the Paralympics. Yet the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 under which these special coin programs have been authorized still calls for the half dollar to honor Kennedy in 2030 and beyond.

Just as the Kennedy Half Dollar has captured the imaginations of American coin collectors for generations, it looks as though it will continue doing so for decades to come.