United States 1967 half dollar
This specimen was lot 5247 in Stack's Bowers August 2020 auction, where it sold for $180. The lot description noted, "1967 Kennedy Half Dollar. SMS. MS-67+ * (NGC)." In late 1963, after the assassination of John F Kennedy, Congress was eager to memorialize him on a coin. The half dollar was selected because it had the largest format and Benjamin Franklin had few defenders. The Kennedy half dollar, struck in 90% silver in 1964 only, was massively hoarded by the public seeking a souvenir plus rising silver prices drove the bullion value over the face value. Many 1964 dated coins were struck in 1965, to no avail. The alloy was converted to billon (40% silver) in 1965 and struck in that form through 1970 but even that failed to stop the hoarders. In 1971, the mint gave up and struck the half dollar in copper-nickel, which alloy is still in use. The last issue for circulation was in 2001. The mint suppressed mintmarks for 1965-67, so the mintage given below is of Philadephia and Denver combined.
Recorded Mintage: 295,046,978 plus 1,863,344 for the Special Mint Sets. This remains the second highest mintage date of any half dollar, after the 1971-D.
Specification: 11.50 g, 0.400 fine silver, 30.6 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 202a.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
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