One of the most popular news articles last week was about the possibility of the United States Mint striking 2014 Kennedy half dollars in 24-karat gold to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the coin.
Today, as the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee is discussing the viability for such a product, the U.S. Mint has released mockup images of two gold Kennedy half dollars.
Based on these images and if an eventual go-ahead to strike such a coin is given, it would be produced at the West Point Mint as there is a "W" mint mark. Only obverse (heads side) mockups were released. The only difference between the two provided images is that one has a bottom inscription of the year "2014" while the other has "1964 – 2014."
Kennedy halves first entered circulation in 1964. The obverse depicts a bust of the former president as sculpted by Gilroy Roberts. The reverse depicts the Presidential Coat of Arms as sculpted by Frank Gasparro. The half dollars were exceptionally popular when first released but annual mintages began to fall and beginning in 2002 the U.S. Mint stopped striking them for general circulation. They are now produced solely to meet the demand of coin collectors.
Stay tuned to CoinNews.net for continued coverage on the topic.
