Owner Comments:
Composition: Copper-Nickel
Diameter: 30.6mm
Mintage: 32,472,244
Obverse: Portrait of John F. Kennedy above the date. Designed by Gilroy Roberts.
Reverse: An interpretation of the Presidential Seal surrounded by 50 stars and the coin’s denomination. Designed by Frank Gasparro.
Kennedy was the youngest President ever elected, but was assassinated on November 22, 1963, before finishing his first term in office.
The following month Congress passed legislation that allowed the Franklin half dollar (then only 15 years old) to be redesigned in 1964 to the Kennedy half dollar. The Kennedy half design is based largely on an earlier presidential medal, which allowed for a quick design turnaround.
The public admired Kennedy so much the Mint could not produce enough half dollars in 1964 for them to be found in circulation, most people hoarded every half they came across. The design still stands, in my opinion, as one of the better designed modern coins.
This coin came from the US Mint Souvenir Set, only available for purchase directly at the Mint. Federal budget cuts resulted in no official Mint Sets being produced in 1982 and 1983, making uncirculated high grade coins from these two years tougher than most. My dad bought and saved this set for me, as it's my birth year, and I sent the set in for grading when I started collecting coins around 2010.