Today, the United States Mint releases rolls and bags of circulating 2023 John F. Kennedy Half Dollars. These coins pay tribute to the 35th President of the United States, featuring a portrait of the former President on one side and a rendition of the Presidential Seal on the other.
Made for collectors, there are two products available. The first one is a two-roll set, which includes one roll of 20 coins from the Denver Mint and one roll of 20 coins from the Philadelphia Mint. This set is priced at $34.50. The second product is a 200-coin bag, which contains 100 coins from the Denver Mint and 100 coins from the Philadelphia Mint. It is priced at $147.
Kennedy half dollars made their debut in 1964, just a few months after the assassination of Kennedy. They were released into general circulation annually until 2002 when the Mint began striking them exclusively for numismatic purposes. However, in 2021, the situation changed when the Federal Reserve ordered millions of the coins for circulation. More halves were ordered again for circulation in 2022. The chart below displays the recent mintages.
| Year | Mintages |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 42,070,000 |
| 2001 | 40,700,000 |
| 2002 | 5,600,000 |
| 2003 | 5,000,000 |
| 2004 | 5,800,000 |
| 2005 | 7,300,000 |
| 2006 | 4,400,000 |
| 2007 | 4,800,000 |
| 2008 | 3,400,000 |
| 2009 | 3,800,000 |
| 2010 | 3,500,000 |
| 2011 | 3,450,000 |
| 2012 | 3,500,000 |
| 2013 | 9,600,000 |
| 2014 | 4,600,000 |
| 2015 | 4,600,000 |
| 2016 | 4,200,000 |
| 2017 | 4,700,000 |
| 2018 | 5,800,000 |
| 2019 | 3,400,000 |
| 2020 | 5,700,000 |
| 2021 | 13,100,000 |
| 2022 | 9,700,000 |
| 2023* | 9,100,000 |
In years when half dollars were not released into general circulation, the Philadelphia and Denver Mints usually strikes the required amount in January. This year, besides the 4.4 million minted in January, an additional 2.2 million were produced in March, and another 4.4 million in April, resulting in a combined total of 9.1 million.
The sales of numismatic Kennedy half dollar products over the past few years, as reported by the U.S. Mint, are shown below:
- 2019 two-roll sets – 24,132
- 2019 200-coin bags – 11,534
- 2020 two-roll sets – 24,312
- 2020 200-coin bags – 11,776
- 2021 two-roll sets – 21,990
- 2021 200-coin bags – 9,968
- 2022 two-roll sets – 21,925
- 2022 200-coin bags – 10,998
Half Dollar Designs
Gilroy Roberts’ left-facing portrait of John F. Kennedy adorns the obverse (heads side) of each half-dollar. The inscriptions surrounding the portrait include LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, the year, and a mintmark.
On the reverse (tails side), you can find Frank Gasparro’s modified depiction of the Presidential Seal. It features a heraldic eagle holding an olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows with a shield.
This design has been featured annually on the half-dollars, except in 1975 and 1976 when it was replaced with an image of the Independence Hall of Philadelphia, commemorating the bicentennial founding of the nation. Reverse inscriptions read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and HALF DOLLAR.
Ordering and Limits
Rolls and bags of Kennedy halves may be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint’s webpage dedicated to half dollar products.
A product limit of 25,000 of the two-roll sets is listed along with an initial household order limit of 10. The 200-coin bags have limits of 11,000 and 10, respectively.
