Stacker Guides · Coins
Kennedy Half Dollar Value by Year: Which Are 90% Silver, Which Are 40%, and Which Are Neither
The 1964 half is 90% silver, 1965 to 1970 are 40%, and everything since holds none. How to tell them apart in five seconds, what each holds, and the few worth more than their metal.
By Joel Perkes · · 5 min read
The Kennedy half dollar went on sale on March 24, 1964, and by November almost nobody was spending it. People lined up at banks to get one and then put it in a drawer, like the good china: everyone has some, and nobody uses it.
Kennedy half dollars dated 1964 are 90% silver and hold 0.3617 troy ounces, worth about $19.55 at spot on October 24, 2026. Those dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver and hold 0.1479 ounces, about $7.99. Those dated 1971 and later, including the 1776–1976 Bicentennial halves in circulation, are copper and nickel and hold no silver. A handful of collector issues are silver whatever their date, and a few rare dates are worth more than their metal.
Kennedy half dollar value by year
The date does nearly all the work. Congress authorized the coin on December 30, 1963, five weeks after the President was killed, and it took the standard 90% silver half dollar alloy for exactly one year. Then silver ran short and the law changed twice.
| Years | Metal | Silver | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 90% silver | 0.3617 oz | $19.55 |
| 1965 to 1970 | 40% silver | 0.1479 oz | $7.99 |
| 1971 on | Clad, no silver | none | 17¢ of metal |
| 1976-S sets | 40% silver | 0.1479 oz | $7.99 |
| 1992 to 2018 silver proofs | 90% silver | 0.3617 oz | $19.55 |
Silver value = weight × fineness ÷ 31.1035 grams × the spot price. For today’s figures, the coin melt value chart and Is My Coin Silver? use the live price. The clad figure uses World Bank September 2026 copper and nickel prices.
Why the 1964 half disappeared
In 1964 the silver in a half dollar was worth a little less than 50 cents, and people hoarded the new coin anyway, as a keepsake of a president who had just been killed. The Treasury raised the year’s planned mintage from 91 million to 141 million and then kept going; nearly 430 million halves dated 1964 were eventually struck, and they still did not circulate.
Then the price of silver rose, and keepsakes turned into savings. A coin that held more than its face value in metal was never coming back to a cash register; this is Gresham’s law in one coin. The Coinage Act of 1965 cut the half to 40% silver, and a law signed on December 31, 1970 took the rest out. Many of the 1964 halves were later melted, which was legal then and is legal now.
How to tell 90%, 40% and clad halves apart
Check the date first. If the date is worn away, look at the edge, which is the coin’s cross section:
- Solid silver edge: 90%. The coin is the same metal all the way through.
- Silvery edge with a faint darker band: 40%. The outer layers are 80% silver over a core of 21% silver and 79% copper, so the stripe is grayish, not orange.
- Bright copper stripe: clad. Copper-nickel faces over a pure copper core.
A scale helps for 90% against the rest: 12.50 grams against 11.50 or 11.34. Telling a 40% half from a clad one by weight alone needs a scale that reads to a tenth of a gram, since they differ by only 0.16 grams. The edge is quicker.
What is a 40% Kennedy half worth?
About $7.99 in silver at the October 24, 2026 spot price, a little over two-fifths of the silver in a 1964 half. Dealers buy and sell common 40% halves by face value, the same way as 90% coins: $1 of face value in 40% halves (two coins) holds 0.2958 ounces of silver, against 0.7234 for $1 in 90% halves. So a $10 roll of 40% halves holds about $160 of silver and a $10 roll of 1964 halves about $391.
The junk silver calculator handles both by count, face value or weight.
Is the 1776–1976 Bicentennial half silver?
Usually not. More than 521 million Bicentennial halves with the double date and Independence Hall on the back were struck for circulation in 1975 and 1976, and those are copper-nickel clad. The Mint also made 40% silver versions for collectors, struck in San Francisco with an S mint mark below the portrait and sold in special sets. If your Bicentennial half came out of change and has a copper edge, it is clad.
Which Kennedy halves are worth more than their metal?
Very few, and almost none that came out of circulation. The 1970-D is the series’ key date because it was sold only in mint sets, about 2.1 million of them, so it is worth more than its 40% silver in any condition. Proofs, special finishes such as the 1998-S matte, and errors are the others. A 50th-anniversary gold version dated 1964–2014 was sold by the Mint in 2014 and is worth its gold and then some.
For everything else, the silver is the value. A worn 1964 half is worth its silver, a worn 1967 half is worth its silver, and a 1990 half is worth fifty cents, which is still more than most coins in the jar.
Are Kennedy halves still made?
Yes, though most people never see one. From 2002 the Mint made them only for collectors, selling rolls and bags rather than shipping them to banks; production for circulation started again in 2021. They rarely turn up in change, so the half dollar spends most of its life where the 1964 ones went: a drawer.
Outside the US
Other countries had half-dollar-sized silver coins and dropped the silver at about the same time. Canada’s 50-cent piece was 80% silver from 1920 to 1967 and holds about 0.30 ounces. Australia’s round 50-cent coin of 1966 was 80% silver for that one year only, about 0.34 ounces, and was replaced by a twelve-sided cupronickel coin when its silver became worth more than its face. The guide to when coins stopped being silver has every country’s cutoff year, and the junk silver calculator values their coins in your own currency.
Sources
- Authorization (December 30, 1963), release (March 24, 1964), the 1964 hoarding and mintage, the compositions and weights by year, the 1970-D mint-set issue, the Bicentennial halves, silver proofs, the 2014 gold half, and collector-only production from 2002 to 2020: Kennedy half dollar, Wikipedia.
- The 40% half dollar and the end of 90% coinage: Coinage Act of 1965, Public Law 89-81.
- Current specifications: US Mint, half dollar.
- Silver price: indicative spot, $54.05 an ounce on October 24, 2026, as stored on this site; the coin melt value chart uses the live price. Copper and nickel: World Bank Pink Sheet, September 2026 averages.
- Canada and Australia 50-cent specifications: the coin data behind this site’s junk silver calculator.
Derived on this page: silver content (weight × fineness ÷ 31.1035), silver per $1 of face value, the value of a $10 roll at the October 24, 2026 price, and the 2.45-to-1 ratio between 90% and 40% halves.
Questions people actually ask
Are Kennedy half dollars silver?
Some are. Kennedy halves dated 1964 are 90% silver, those dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver, and those dated 1971 and later are copper-nickel clad with no silver, except special collector issues such as the 1976-S silver sets and silver proofs.
How much is a 1964 Kennedy half dollar worth?
A 1964 Kennedy half holds 0.3617 troy ounces of silver, worth about $19.55 at spot on October 24, 2026. Worn common coins sell at about their silver value; proofs and well-preserved coins can sell for more.
How much is a 1965 to 1970 Kennedy half worth?
They are 40% silver and hold 0.1479 troy ounces, worth about $7.99 at spot on October 24, 2026. The 1970-D, sold only in mint sets, is worth more to collectors.
Is the 1776-1976 half dollar silver?
Only the collector versions. Bicentennial halves from circulation are copper-nickel clad. The Mint also sold 40% silver Bicentennial halves, struck in San Francisco with an S mint mark, in special collector sets.
How can I tell if a Kennedy half is silver?
Check the date, then the edge. A 1964 half has a solid silver edge. A 1965 to 1970 half has a silvery edge with a faint gray band. A clad half from 1971 on shows a bright copper stripe. A 1964 half also weighs 12.50 grams against 11.50 or 11.34.
Is a 1971 Kennedy half dollar silver?
No. A law signed on December 31, 1970 removed the remaining silver, and 1971 and later Kennedy halves made for circulation are copper-nickel clad, weighing 11.34 grams.
How much silver is in $1 of 40% Kennedy halves?
0.2958 troy ounces, from two coins of 0.1479 ounces each. One dollar of face value in 90% halves, dimes or quarters holds 0.7234 ounces at mint weight, or about 0.715 ounces as worn coins are traded.
Are Kennedy half dollars still made?
Yes. From 2002 the Mint made them only for collectors and sold them in rolls and bags; production for circulation resumed in 2021. They remain legal tender for 50 cents.
