Kennedy Half Dollar 1966 SMS

Only one month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the US Mint quickly released the new half dollar. Replacing the Franklin Half Dollar, the new Kennedy Half Dollar's design was already an existed work by sculptors, Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro. By already having a prominent design at hand, the Philadelphia Mint was able to produce over 273 million brilliant uncirculated coins in 30 short days. Upon their release in March of 1964, almost the entire collection disappeared from the market. Collectors rushed to hoard thousands of these historical gems, while others wanted them for their 90% silver content. Then, there were those Kennedy fans, who just wanted something to remember the late president by. The Mint even drastically increased production but were unsuccessful in giving others the ability to enjoy the new half dollar. 1964 was also the last year of the US Mint using 90% silver in their coins and changing the metal to 40% so this also could have affected the public's intense reaction to hoarding them.

Due to the extreme public hoarding of the 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar, the US Mint decided to take a break from minting more from 1965-1967. The Special Mint Sets were made to appease collectors and although 1965 was a date for the SMS, it wasn't minted until 1966. There are some 1966 SMS halves that carry the initials of one of the designers, "FG," making them a commodity to collectors. The 1966 and 1967 half dollars were stored in hard cases, protecting them more through the years than the 1965 being in soft plastic. The 1966 SMS Kennedy Half Dollar is in brilliant uncirculated condition and comes packaged in an appropriate coin flip.

• Denomination: N/A
• Year: 1966
• Diameter: N/A
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: N/A
• Grade: N/A