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Inventory:
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- Product ID: 3434
The US Mint desired to have President Kennedy on either the dollar, half dollar, or quarter. Once the president passed, his widow Jacqueline Kennedy desired to have his portrait on the half dollar. Sculptors, Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro, had already designed a special presidential medal that wasn't released yet when they were notified of the new half dollar. Using Robert's obverse design and Gasparro's reverse design of the medal, the new Kennedy Half was born. In 1964, the Philadelphia and Denver Mints produced millions of the half dollar, resulting in millions being hoarded by collectors or investors since it was the last year for the 90% silver coins. The US Mint struggled to produce more to meet the demand but the coins never made it to circulation. Nowadays, the 1964 BU half dollars are pretty accessible for collections but if a collector wants circulated ones in bulk, they are more difficult to obtain.
On the obverse, of the 1964-D Kennedy Half Dollar, President Kennedy's side portrait is accompanied by the coin's date of mintage, "Liberty," and "In God We Trust" engraving. The "D" mint-mark can be viewed on the reverse, underneath the left talon of the eagle. The US National Seal is also depicted on the reverse; a bald eagle covered by a shield and each talon is holding arrows and olive branches. In brilliant uncirculated condition, the 1964-D Kennedy Half Dollar shines from rim to rim with an unbroken sheen. John F. Kennedy served as the 35th President of the United States for two years before being assassinated. The majority of Kennedy's presidency was spent handling high tensions concerning communism. Kennedy is still the only president to win a Pulitzer Prize for his biography and the only president to have been a Roman Catholic.