How Much Are Kennedy Half Dollars Worth?

The Kennedy half dollar was rushed into production in 1964, just weeks after the assassination, and the public hoarded them so aggressively that they never circulated the way half dollars had before. That hoarding is the single most important fact about their value: nearly every year is common in uncirculated condition, so date rarity matters far less than silver content and grade. The 1964 issue is 90% silver and carries roughly 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver. From 1965 through 1970 the composition dropped to a 40% silver clad sandwich, worth about 0.1479 troy ounces each. From 1971 onward, circulation strikes are copper-nickel clad and worth face value unless they are in gem condition or carry an error. Special silver proofs returned in 1992 and continue today in the annual silver proof sets.

Silver content sets the floor for anything dated 1964 through 1970, so those coins move with the spot price day to day. Above that floor, condition is everything: because so many Kennedys were saved, the market only pays real premiums at MS-65 and higher, and full strike detail on Kennedy's hair and the eagle's breast feathers separates a gem from an ordinary uncirculated coin. Original toning from decades in a mint set adds value when the color is attractive. Errors and die varieties are where the surprises live, especially doubled dies and off-metal strikes. Anything cleaned, whizzed, or polished loses most of its collector premium regardless of date.