The Kennedy half dollar, first minted in 1964, is a fifty-cent coin issued by the United States Mint. Intended as a memorial to the assassinated 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy, it was authorized by Congress just over a month after his death. Use of existing works by Mint sculptors Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro allowed dies to be prepared quickly, and striking of the new coins began in January 1964.
The silver coins were hoarded upon their release in March 1964 by collectors and those interested in a memento of the late president. Although the Mint greatly increased production, the denomination was seldom seen in circulation. Continued rises in the price of silver increased the hoarding—many early Kennedy half dollars have been melted for their silver content. Starting with 1965-dated coins, the percentage of fine silver was reduced from 90% to 40% (silver clad), but even with this change the coin saw little circulation.
In 1971, silver was eliminated entirely from the half dollar. Though production increased, the clad coin saw only a moderate increase in circulation; by 1980, usage had gradually fallen to the point where the half was only occasionally seen in circulation. A special design for the reverse of the half dollar was issued for the United States Bicentennial and was struck in 1975 and 1976. In addition to business strikes, special collector coins were struck for the Bicentennial in silver clad; silver proof sets in which the dime, quarter and half dollar were struck in 90% silver were minted from 1992 to 2018. In 2014, a special 50th anniversary edition of the Kennedy half dollar was also struck in 99.99% gold. Beginning in 2019, silver coins for collectors, including silver Kennedy half dollars, were minted in 99.9% silver.
Even though ample supplies of circulating half dollars are readily available from most banks, their circulation is still limited. Production of Kennedy half dollars for general circulation was temporarily suspended in 2001; from 2002 to 2020, the coins were produced to satisfy the demand from collectors and sold at a premium through the Mint. In 2021, the mint resumed striking Kennedy half dollars for general circulation.
Inception
Within hours of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Mint Director Eva Adams called Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts, informing him that serious consideration was already being given to depicting Kennedy on one of the larger silver coins: either the silver dollar, half dollar, or quarter dollar. Adams called Roberts again on November 27 and authorized the project, stating that the late president's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy preferred that he be depicted on the half dollar, replacing the previous design of Benjamin Franklin. Mrs. Kennedy's reasoning was that she did not want to replace George Washington on the quarter.
In the interest of time (the striking of the new coin was to begin in January 1964), Roberts modified the existing bust of Kennedy he had created for use on the Kennedy medal in the Mint's Presidential series, while Frank Gasparro began modifications to the reverse he had created for the same medal. Both Roberts' and Gasparro's designs had been approved by Kennedy. Roberts had met with Kennedy in person to show him early models of the design; although the President expressed no opinion regarding the depiction, Roberts decided to make some changes after meeting him. After the Mint produced trial strikes, Jacqueline and Robert F. Kennedy were invited to view them. Mrs. Kennedy viewed the designs favorably, but suggested that the hair be altered slightly. It was also suggested that a full or half figure of the president be used instead of the profile, but Roberts noted that there was not enough time to produce an entirely new design because of the project's time constraints, and also that he believed the left profile would give a more attractive appearance.
Frank Gasparro's reverse design of the Kennedy half dollar was also influenced by the experience he gained from designing the President John. F. Kennedy appreciation medal. In 1962, President Kennedy had three hundred appreciation medals struck by the United States Mint in Philadelphia that were later presented during his June 23, 1963 through July 2, 1963 trip to the nations of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany (West Berlin), Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy, and the Vatican City State. The reverse design of the Kennedy appreciation medal depicts a larger and more detailed Presidential Seal than the one he designed on the Mint's Presidential series (Bureau of the Mint Presidential series stock medal #135 known as the John F. Kennedy Presidential inauguration medal). Gasparro's placement of his initials FG is also similarly located (under the right leg of the eagle) on both the Kennedy appreciation medal and Kennedy half dollar.
Congressional approval was required for any design change within 25 years of the last. In early December, Representative Henry Gonzalez (Democrat-Texas) introduced a bill for Kennedy to appear on the half dollar. On December 10, the new President, Lyndon Johnson, endorsed the call for a Kennedy half dollar, asking Congress to pass the legislation promptly to allow striking of the new piece to begin early in 1964. President Johnson stated that he had been moved by letters from many members of the public to agree with the plan. The bill to authorize the Kennedy half dollar passed on December 30, 1963. Work was already underway on coinage dies; the use of the already-available designs allowed for the completion of the first dies on January 2, 1964. Only proof coins were initially struck. The first Kennedy half dollars intended for circulation were struck at the Denver Mint on January 30, 1964, followed by the Philadelphia Mint the next week. A ceremonial first strike was held at both Philadelphia and Denver on February 11, 1964.
Release
Initial popularity
The Treasury Department made the coins available to the public beginning on March 24, 1964. A line a block long formed at the department's windows in Washington to purchase the 70,000 coins initially allocated for public sale. Although the department limited sales to 40 per customer, by the end of the day, the coins were gone, but the line had not shortened. Banks in Boston and Philadelphia quickly rationed supplies, but still sold out by noon. Sales in New York did not begin until the following day, and rationing was imposed there as well, to the disgruntlement of the head of the coin department at Gimbels, the largest dealer in the city, which had hoped to sell the coins at a premium.
The coins were popular overseas as well. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen Williams distributed plastic-encased specimens to presidents and foreign ministers of African nations and to the U.S. ambassadors serving there "to win friends for the United States in Africa". Shortly after the coin's release, the Denver Mint began receiving complaints that the new coin depicted a hammer and sickle on the bottom of Kennedy's truncated bust. In response, Roberts stated that the portion of the design in question was actually his monogram, a stylized "GR".
The Mint struck Kennedy half dollars in large numbers in an attempt to meet the overwhelming demand. The Treasury had initially planned to issue 91 million half dollars for 1964, but raised the number to 141 million. However, a public announcement of the increase failed to cause more coins to actually circulate or to decrease the prices on the secondary market. By late November, the Mint had struck approximately 160 million pieces, yet the coin was almost never seen in circulation. Silver prices were rising, and the majority of the coins were being hoarded. Hopeful that issuing more 1964-dated coins would counter the speculation in them, the Treasury requested and received Congressional authorization to continue striking 1964-dated coins into 1965. Eventually, almost 430 million half dollars dated 1964 were struck, a sum greater than the total struck for circulation in the sixteen years of the Franklin half dollar series.
These minting operations were rapidly depleting the Treasury's stock of silver. Prices for the metal were rising to such an extent that, by early June, a dime contained 9.33 cents' worth of silver at market prices. On June 3, 1965, President Johnson announced plans to eliminate silver from the dime and quarter in favor of a clad sandwich with layers of copper-nickel on each side of a layer of pure copper. The half dollar was changed from 90% silver to 40%. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1965 in July. The new half dollars retained their silvery appearance, due to the outer layer being 80% silver and 20% copper. The coin was also minted with an inner layer of 21% silver and 79% copper. The first silver-clad half dollars were struck at the Denver Mint on December 30, 1965, bearing the date 1965; the date would not be changed for all US coinage until the coin shortage was eased. Beginning on August 1, 1966, the Mint began to strike 1966-dated pieces, and thereafter it resumed the normal practice of striking the current year's date on each piece. Despite the proclaimed end to the coin shortage, Kennedy half dollars circulated little, a scarcity caused by continued hoarding and a dip in production, with the Treasury reluctant to expend more of the nation's silver holdings on a coin which did not circulate. According to coin dealer and numismatic author Q. David Bowers,
Switch to base metal
In May 1969, the Treasury sought authorization to eliminate the half dollar's silver content, changing it to the same copper-nickel clad composition as the dime and quarter. The Treasury also sought approval to strike copper-nickel clad one dollar coins, which would fill a need for gaming tokens in Western casinos. Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower had died recently, and there was discussion of placing Eisenhower's likeness on the new dollar. The Treasury hoped that with the removal of the silver content, the dollar coin would cease to be hoarded and again circulate. Despite the support of President Richard Nixon, some Republicans in the House of Representatives initially scuttled the legislation, disliking the idea of depicting Eisenhower on a base metal coin. The dispute dragged on for over a year before President Nixon signed a bill on December 31, 1970 which authorized production of the Eisenhower dollar and eliminated the remaining 40% silver content from the half dollar. As a result of the delay, in 1970 uncirculated (non-proof) half dollars were struck only at the Denver mint and were available solely in mint sets. With a mintage of 2.1 million, the 1970-D Kennedy half is considered the "key" coin in the series, although enough were produced to keep prices modest. To avoid hoarding and a potential shortage of the sets, the Mint did not announce that no 1970 half dollars would be struck for circulation until after ordering for the mint sets had closed.