1/2 Dollar 50th Anniversary of World War II

Congress authorized a sprawling series of commemoratives for the 50th anniversaries of World War II events, but this clad half dollar was the only circulating-metal coin in the program — a deliberate concession to affordability after critics lambasted earlier commemorative programs for pricing out ordinary collectors. Sales were bundled with silver dollars and gold pieces in multi-coin sets, which suppressed single-coin demand and left mintages lower than the Treasury anticipated.