Kennedy Half Dollar 50th Anniversary?

There is time for something to happen, but I doubt anything will happen until the elections are over this fall. The two parties are too busy bashing each other over the head with political rhetoric to worry about coin designs right now.

 

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I'd rather see a decent new design. Reviving the Walking Liberty would be nice. Most of our modern US coins are very boring IMHO.

 

I think it is more likely they would propose a coin to commemorate JFK's birth rather than his death. We generally celebrate when people are born rather than when they die.

 

Maybe they could put it on the Silver Eagle.

 

I'd personally like to see the anniversary Kennedy be released in 2014, and then a completely new design. We need to see what our mint artists and engravers are made of. The Walking Liberty design was great (one of my favorites), but it's already being reused, and it would likely be a low relief design common to all the circulating coins these days. We already did one significant non-presidential public figure on the half dollar, why not another?

 

Silver Eagles aren't a circulation coin, so I can't see a reason not to put something like the Walking Liberty design on them. But, maybe bring back the design of the Standing Liberty quarter, or even a Seated Liberty design, would be better. Or something that is totally different, but still a nice design by the engravers. Personally I'd like to see something better and more eye pleasing than the profile of any person.

 

Some here think my suggestion is to celebrate Kennedy's death.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
My suggestion is for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the coin.

I've seen some good ideas here, too.

 

The best thing they can do to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Half is retire it and the half dollar denomination altogether.

Once it is no longer minted for circulation it stops being a true coin and becomes a medallion. The Kennedy Half has not been minted for circulation in over a decade and for 30 years before that it was rarely used outside casinos. It has now become a medallion that you can purchase for 50 cents at the occasional bank or grocery store. Try and use one for purchases and they will look at you like you are from Mars.

 

[video=youtube_share;TP_Qr9Oiw04]http://youtu.be/TP_Qr9Oiw04[/video]

 

And people watched that show??

 

Don't let Drago hear you say that!

 

Gee - I guess just about all of my collections from the 1600s to today are no longer coins.

 

No, they were used as coins when minted. Kennedy halves are not and do not fulfill a useful slot in our selection of coinage. While they retain the face value of 1/2 dollar, they just aren't used in the USA.

 

They may not be used much, but I have 4 Kennedys here that I got in circulation over the last several years, and one recently - a 76D, 79, 84D and 96D. They were coins when minted and still are still coins, not medallions. Any Kennedy is legal tender, and any are coins. Those minted since 2002 may be for collectors, but still legal tender coins, if you wanted to buy something with them.

 

You are absolutely right, they have been and always will be legal tender and I am not advocating they be recalled or demonetized. I just think they should be retired from the Mint's stable of coins and those resources used to make useful coins. Kind of like what they did with the half cent, two cent, three cent, 20 cent coins and the dollar coin before it was resurrected in the 70's.

A 50 year run of what has essentially become a commemorative is a sufficient honor to a President, even one with the stature of Kennedy.

 

I'll agree with all of that

 

The Kennedy Half Dollar has had a longer life than Kennedy had.

 

It's kind of crazy that you are the first to bring this up!

 

I never realized that! It makes me feel really old now. I was in high school when he was assassinated.