Kennedy Half Dollar 1964 BU

Just 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.

Within hours of the assassination, Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro were contacted to see if their previous designs for another coin could be used on the new half dollar. The US Mint strongly desired to give Kennedy a larger denomination, such as the dollar, half dollar, or quarter. President Kennedy had approved of the sculptors design for a Presidential Medal so Roberts' obverse design and Gasparro's reverse design comprised the half dollar. On the obverse, President Kennedy is pictured, along with the coin's date of mintage and the word, "Liberty" across his head. The reverse is of the US National Seal with the coin's 50 cent denomination. The 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar is in brilliant uncirculated condition and will come packaged in a coin flip for protection.

• Denomination: N/A
• Year: 1964
• Diameter: N/A
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: N/A
• Grade: N/A