United States 1976-S half dollar
The United States half dollar has a proud history going back to 1794 but has not circulated in any numbers since the early 1970's. John F. Kennedy has graced the obverse since 1964, altho the coin is no longer silver. Burned by abuses in the fifties, the mint did not want to issue commemoratives but Congress overruled them in favor a circulating commemorative quarter, half dollar and dollar. The bicentennial reverse was used for 1975 and 1976 and large numbers were struck at Denver and Philadelphia. The San Francisco mint made only collector issues. All were saved and they are common today.
Recorded mintage: 7,059,099 proofs in copper-nickel plus 4,908,319 silver uncirculated plus 3,998,621 silver proofs.
Specification: KM 205: 11.34 g, copper-nickel with a copper core, 30.61 mm diameter; KM 205a: 11.50 g, 0.400 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 205 (copper-nickel), KM 205a (40% silver).
- 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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