It’s a safe bet to assume that the most sought 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half-Dollar product will be this fall’s release of the 2014 Kennedy Half-Dollar Silver Coin Collection with its four 90% silver coins for $99.95.
Better than clad and cheaper than gold, collectors like silver. The set has that times four with the added lure of coins bearing varying finishes and struck from all U.S. Mint production facilities. Pent-up demand is already building for these sets. Its release follows an already strong-selling 2014 Kennedy Half-Dollar Clad Set and the highly anticipated Aug. 5 debut of the 1964-2014 24K Kennedy Half-Dollar Gold Coin.
Commemorating the semicentennial of the Kennedy half-dollar, all the 50th anniversary coins uniquely feature the original 1964 portrait design by Gilroy Roberts. This portrait has changed over the years. Modern coinage shows very noticeable differences in Kennedy’s hair, cheek and chin, and the relief appears lower than Roberts’ original design. Within the 2014 Kennedy Half-Dollar Silver Coin Collection are:
- One reverse proof coin from the U.S. Mint at West Point
- One proof coin from the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia
- One enhanced uncirculated coin from the U.S. Mint at San Francisco, and
- One uncirculated coin from the U.S. Mint at Denver.
Images of these four coins are yet to be published by the U.S. Mint, but we do have photos of the reverse proof. We snapped many shots of the silver coins as they were struck and encapsulated last week at the West Point Mint. Several are below, taken from different angles and under varying lighting conditions. The photos, frankly, do not capture how the coins appear in person — they are far more attractive in hand. But they do, when taken in their entirety, offer a fair representation.
I’ll begin with a few photos of the obverse or heads side of the coin. You’ll notice its reverse proof finish is opposite of that of standard proof coins. The raised designs, in this case the portrait of Kennedy and the surrounding inscriptions, are mirror-like to contrast against a background of a frosted field.
Next are a few photos of the reverse or tails side of the coin. This side bears the standard Frank Gasparro rendition of the Presidential Seal, which consists of a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, holding a symbolic olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows. These elements are vibrant in reverse proof.
I debated on including a video we took of the silver coins. The lighting and camera settings were off and the coin designs look washed out as a result. Still, the video offers some sense of how the coins look in person so I reluctantly added it.
Finally, to follow are a few more photos of the reverse proof half-dollars.
