Kennedy Silver Half Dollar

The Kennedy Silver Half Dollar was introduced in 1964 to honor John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Because the U.S. Mint was in the process of eliminating silver from most circulated coins, the 1964 Kennedy half was/is the last U.S. silver half dollar to contain 90 percent silver. Approximately 433,460,000 Kennedy 1964 Half Dollars were produced by the Philadelphia and Denver mints.

Beginning in 1965, U.S. silver coins became "silverless" but the Kennedy Half Dollar retained a silver content of 40 percent. This continued until 1971 when the Silver Kennedy Half Dollar became "silverless" too. Approximately 846,745,000 Kennedy Half Dollars containing 40 percent silver were minted for circulation by the Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco mints. 

The Silver Kennedy Half Dollar (1964-1970)

The Silver Kennedy Half Dollar features a detailed bust of President John F. Kennedy on the obverse side and the Presidential Coat-Of-Arms on the reverse (click on either image of this Kennedy 1964 Half Dollar to see larger, more detailed pictures of this coin).

For 1964 through 1967, the mint mark is on the reverse side just above the AL (in the word HALF). In 1968 and beyond, the mint mark is on the obverse above the date. Mint marks are "D" for Denver and "S" for the San Francisco Mints. If no mint mark appears, it was minted in Philadelphia.

The 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar is 90% silver and 10% copper. An uncirculated Kennedy Half contains .3617 Troy ounces of pure silver with a gross weight of .401 Troy ounces. A circulated Kennedy Half is considered to contain .3575 Troy ounces of pure silver due to the "wear factor" in handling these coins.

The 1965-1970 Kennedy Half Dollar is 40% silver and 60% copper. An uncirculated Kennedy Half with these dates contains .1475 Troy ounces of pure silver with a gross weight of .368 Troy ounces. A circulated Kennedy Half is considered to contain the same amount of silver since copper hardens the coin resulting in little wear for circulated coins.


A Kennedy Half Value (circulated) can be determined by multiplying the current spot price of silver (found on our Home Page) by either .3575 for a 90% silver coin or .1475 for a 40% coin.

Example: $15.00 x .3575 = $5.36

Example: $16.00 x .1475 = $2.36