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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;gsalexan, post: 1038284, member: 24274&quot;]I&#039;m sure that honoring the Kennedy legacy played into it, but the simple fact that the Kennedy half was produced, silver or not, was a considerable honor.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think Hobo&#039;s striking theory makes a lot of sense. They couldn&#039;t *stop* minting the halves because they were legally bound to use 15 million oz. -- and their equipment was insufficient to transition to cupronickel. So 40% silver was a conveniently cheaper alternative than buying new machinery. </p><p><br /></p><p>It wasn&#039;t until Eisenhower died in March 1969 that things shook loose. There was interest in honoring Ike on a coin, but the only denomination available was the dollar, and that wasn&#039;t possible on the presses at the time, and a 40% dollar (for circulation) would have cost nearly $1 in silver in 1969. (You couldn&#039;t use a lower silver content than the Kennedy half -- that would be like a snub, right?) So there was finally the political will to upgrade the presses, but that took another year -- so no 1970 Ike dollar and the final year for a 40% half.</p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s my theory, anyway.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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