Kennedy Half Dollar

I am not a Kennedy Half dollar fan, but have a bunch of them. I have one 64 and the rest are the later ones. I never see any in circulation, but was wondering should I hang on to them or cash them in for new coin money.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The 1965 - 1970 Kennedy Halves are 40% silver.

 

Anything 1970 and below, sell to a silver dealer. The 1964 is 90% silver and any 1965-1970 is 40% silver (although it would be rare for you to find any 1970s as I believe they were only used in collector sets).

As for any 1971 and up, which are just copper clad like the current quarter, dime, Ike dollar and SBA dollar, I would just spend them around town to get rid of them. Getting the weird reactions from cashiers who don't see halves, $2 bills or dollar coins of any type, is fun. At least, to me it is.

 

Man I had about 25 rolls that I had removed from circulation years ago. I kept all the 1971's and earlier because of the silver. Pulled the best ones for each year and mint then dumped the rest. I made a quick check for errors, etc. and couldn't find any reason to keep them.

 

I keep them because I think they're neat but they're not worth anything. I was excited last weekend when I was at the concession stand at a Notre Dame football game and the cashier gave me one. He had a drawer full of them. I think they use them to save time. It's the only time I can remember seeing a merchant actually making an effort to use them.

 

Hang on to 'em, they're novelties!

I actually just started my Dansco 8166 the Kennedy Half plus proofs. A lot of beautiful coins, especially the proofs. I hadn't seen any in circulation, so I went around to a few banks to inquire as to whether they had any rolls. Most of the tellers just looked at me like I had a third eye. But on my fifth bank I hit the jackpot, one teller had four rolls, she was only too happy to get rid of them.

Since I'm assembling the collection in MS/BU, I searched the rolls, found a couple that appeared to be mint state, and have had a ball putting the others back into circulation.

Today my wife tried to pay for something at the pharmacy, when presented with the Kennedy Half, the pharmacist asked "Is this legal tender?" To which my wife responded: "Yes it is." The pharmacist: "I'm going to have to ask my manager if we can accept this."
After some back an forth, they relented and reluctantly accepted this legal US tender coin.
I wish I could have been there!

 

I have a bunch of Kennedy's. I think that they will be the next big thing.

 

By odd chance, Kennedy halves happen to have become my latest obsession in the hobby...

A few things to consider regarding these coins:

1) IME, and seemingly from posts in the roll searching thread, it appears that these carry the highest probability of finding silver in pocket change or by roll searching. My own guess is that they simply don't circulate much, and as a result, the silver coins stand a lower chance of hitting the pocket of someone who recognizes them for what they are. Remove also those who "know pre-65 is silver" but are unaware of the 40%-ers, and you raise the likelihood of a score by quite a bit. Having said that, ime at least, they're also among the hardest to FIND in the wild. Many banks simply will NOT order them for any reason, and I've even had some refuse to sell me loose halves they had sitting in plain sght.

1a) Retailers usually LOVE to get rid of the things, IF you can find any...so keep that in mind. Never hurts to ask.

2) Look around for the years (primarily, but not exclusively, since 2002) that Kennedy halves were NIFC. Some of these NIFC years can carry a BIT of a premium, and are found in circulation at a surprisingly high rate. You'll need to find them in AU condition at a minimum to make the find worth while, but keep your eyes out. Redbook, Wiki, and plenty of other sources can tell you what years/mints were mint-set only.

3) Along those same lines, Kennedy "oddballs' seem to make their way into circulation at an uncharacteristic rate as well. For example, the bicentennial coins were issued in both clad AND 90% silver mintsets and/or proofs...BOTH can be found in circulating rolls within a fairly reasonable number of rolls searched.

4) Arguably THE key date of the collection, and unlikely to be found in circulation, is the 1998 matte finish Silver Kennedy half proof. It was issued as part of a two-piece set that year, honoring JFK's brother Robert. Not unusual at all to see quality examples going for $200+

Now...just a couple personal notes here...ymmv, of course.

First, I like the Kennedy half as an educational tool. For MANY reasons, not least of which being their relative scarcity in the wild, they present a great many teachable moments. From explaining the concepts of mintages (and the resulting skipped years), to introducing a child to the late President...even to the interesting bicentennial reverse...all the way up to the rather complex differences of 90% vs 40% silver...lots and lots of ways to use the Kennedy half as a teaching tool for kids, new coin buffs, you name it.

Second, and perhaps most educational imo, I feel Kennedies are among the EASIEST coins to cut your grading teeth on. The wear points are very consistent, and very visible. The types/amounts of wear that place a coin in a certain grade are QUITE distinguishable ime.

============

All in all, certainly my favorite of modern coins, and really a quite stunning set even when assembled from circulated examples, imo.

 

Why do you think they will be the next big thing? They aren't rare. Billions of them were minted. Infact over 30% of the total mintage contained silver.

 

Kennedy Half Dollar Mintage Figures for the Last 10 Years.

2000 P - 22,600,000
2000 D - 19,466,000
2001 P - 21,200,000
2001 D - 19,504,000
2002 P - 3,100,000
2002 D - 2,500,000
2003 P - 2,500,000
2003 D - 2,500,000
2004 P - 2,900,000
2004 D - 2,900,000
2005 P - 3,800,000
2005 D - 3,500,000
2006 P - 2,400,000
2006 D - 2,000,000
2007 P - 2,400,000
2007 D - 2,400,000
2008 P - 1,700,000
2008 D - 1,700,000
2009 P - 1,900,000
2009 D - 1,900,000


===============

Post a Kennedy Half!

​

 

The thing to keep in mind about those "low" mintages from 2002-current is that most of those years the ONLY coins minted were in mint sets...meaning a VAST majority of those figures are already in the hands of collectors, in MS+ condition.

 

Indeed, they're 'not for circulation', sold to collectors in: mint sets, proof sets, mint wrapped rolls, and mint bags

 

They circulate. I have found them in rolls. I am guessing people buy the bags and either spend the scratched ones or get hard up for cash and turn them in.

 

Yes, some do end up in circulation, it's no mystery. Often enough you will find them reported in this thread: Roll-searchers, post your results!

Many find their way into circulation, as do other proofs and collector version coins. They are commonly referred to as NFC - Not For Circulation. I've posted in a couple threads in just the last month or so on finding a Washington Proof golden dollar coin in change: See Post #79 in this thread.

Another CT'er found this 69-s Proof half coin: See Post #4 in this thread.

Another guess for reasoning why some enter circulation is that those coins (non precious metals collector version coins: clad, pres dollars, sac dollars) perhaps cracked out of sets (or bags/rolls) not worthy of achieving a higher slab grade if submitted to a TPG, and which may be common or higher mintage, aren't worth anything so one might as well spend them in circulation.

 

Indeed...i mentioned in my first post in this thread that NIFC Kennedy halves seem to find their way into circulation at a higher rate than most NIFC coins...probably for the very reasons krispy mentioned.

I meant merely to suggest that the 'low" mintages of the coin in the 2000's might be somewhat "deceptive"...that is, they aren't "low" the way, say, 2009 Dimes/Nickels were, since none were ever DESTINED for circulation, and only end up there after the fact....put another way, those collectors who desire them already have them.

Having said all that, they're STILL my favorite moderns to collect, and I DO maintain that they make an impressive set when proofs and the most well known varieties are included.

 

On a related note...

Along with a few proofs/silver proofs, just brought home an '07 P/D pair today. This leaves me ONE major variety (1974-D DDO) away from finishing the business-strike portion of my set, and I already have a line on that last one.

 

I keep & collect all the silver ones. There is just something about them I like. I know there were a bunch made and people tell you to dump them for silver price but I don't care. I collect what makes me happy.

 

Absolutely. Collect what you enjoy.

Shoot..i carry 3-4 of the silver ones around at times, just for the jingle.

 

i love kennedys i almost got my dansco book half way done and yes some 2002-2009 kennedys appear in circulation aswell as some Proof coins. So far i've gotten a 1972 and 1978 s and a 2006 and 2004 out of circulation . Love them kennedy.

 

Now there's someone who has this hobby figured out!