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1/2 Dollar 'Kennedy Half Dollar' 40% Silver
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1965-1970 |
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| Value | 1/2 Dollar = 50 Cents (1/2 USD) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing truncated bust of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, rendered in high relief with finely detailed hair and facial features, as sculpted by Gilroy Roberts. The arc legend LIBERTY curves along the upper rim, while the motto IN GOD WE TRUST is inscribed in two parts in the lower field to either side of the neck truncation. The date appears along the bottom rim below the bust. The engraver's initials GR are incuse on the truncation. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | LIBERTY IN GOD WE TRUST 1965 |
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| Additional information |
Kennedy Half Dollars were struck in 90% silver for 1964 only, then quietly debased to 40% silver beginning in 1965 — part of the Coinage Act of 1965, which eliminated silver from dimes and quarters entirely. Congress kept some silver in the half dollar as a political concession, partly out of deference to the Kennedy family and the coin's sentimental weight so soon after the assassination. The compromise satisfied almost no one and lasted only six years.
Hoarding was immediate and relentless. Most 40% halves never saw meaningful circulation, pulled from bank rolls by the public the moment they appeared. The 1970-D issue was not released for general circulation at all — available only in mint sets.