Silver Half Dollar — Franklin & 1964 Kennedy (90% Silver)

The Franklin half carried Sinnock's Liberty Bell for sixteen years until Congress, within weeks of the assassination, authorized the Kennedy half. The 1964 issue was hoarded so completely that half dollars effectively vanished from American circulation and never returned — a coin killed by its own memorial. At 0.3617 ozt of silver it is the heaviest junk-silver unit.

The Mint struck 1964-dated Kennedys into 1966 trying to satisfy demand — over 400 million pieces, and still none circulated.

Check these before treating any coin as melt. Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling, and read the grading basics first.