Kennedy Half-Dollar Mintages (1964-Date)

The United States Mint began minting the new Kennedy half-dollar in January of 1964. Production of circulating coin began on January 30th at the Denver mint and about a week later at the Philadelphia mint. Due to the rising price of silver, the composition of the Kennedy half-dollar was changed from 90 percent silver to 40 percent silver in 1965, and in 1971 silver was eliminated altogether with a copper-nickel clad alloy. In an effort to thwart the speculators and investors, coins dated 1964 were also made in 1965 in 1966. This was allowed by an act of Congress passed on September 3, 1964, at the request of the Treasury Department.

Beginning in 1965 and lasting through 1967, the United States was experiencing a coin shortage. This was due to the rising price of silver that made coins more valuable for their silver content than for their face value. This led to people removing the silver coins from circulation and saving or melting them for their silver value. Unfortunately, the Treasury Department blamed coin collectors for the coin shortage. In an effort to try to curb people from removing the coins from circulation, the United States Mint removed all mint marks from coins made between 1965 and 1967. Additionally, Proof sets were not made during these three years. However, they did make Special Mint Sets for coin collectors, but they were not the same quality as Proof coins.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Congress authorized the production of a circulating commemorative coin that included the Kennedy half-dollar. In anticipation of extreme demand by the public, the mint did not strike any quarters, half-dollars or dollar coins dated 1975. Kennedy half-dollars minted in 1975 bear the dual date 1776–1976. Special collector edition coins were struck on 40 percent silver-clad planchets in both business strike and proof finishes.

Kennedy Half-Dollar Mintages

The following table lists mint production numbers for the number of Kennedy Half-Dollar produced at each mint facility. Where possible, production numbers by strike type are noted.

Sources

• Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins; Walter Breen; Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (May 1, 1988); ISBN-10: 0385142072; ISBN-13: 978-0385142076
• The Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties, 5th Edition, Volume II; Fivaz, Bill and J.T. Stanton; Publisher: Whitman Publishing, Atlanta (2011); ISBN-10: 0794832393; ISBN-13: 978-0794832391
• A Guide Book of Franklin and Kennedy Half Dollars, 2nd Edition Edition; Tomaska, Rick; Whitman Publishing; 2 edition (February 7, 2012); ISBN-10: 0794836666; ISBN-13: 978-0794836665
• The Kennedy Half Dollar Book: An Attribution and Pricing Guide; Wiles, James, Ph.D.; Series: CONECA attribution series; Stanton Printing & Publishing; Savannah, GA; 1998; ISBN-10: 1892706008;  ISBN-13: 978-1892706003