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.
It would be awesome if the Mint could bring the Walking Liberty Half Dollar back into production in the same way that the Morgan and Peace Dollars have been.
Agreed bring the walking liberty half back into production. Keep it silver and make the Kennedy half dollars silver again.
why?
It’s only rock ‘n roll but I like it. I suppose that’s enough reason for me.
I’m with you Kaiser, as this reverse alone as well as offering in pure silver would be, well worth the price(?) of admission and inclusion, for lack of a better description, “awesome”! I’d love for a new, I mean completely “New An Innovative, design, metal content, as well as size for a “New” $.50 piece. Just hard to not be influenced by or clamor for great designs of old however?
ok, then combine this reverse with some new design obverse. I’d argue we don’t need another Walking Liberty obverse since it’s in use on the ASE.
That would be okay by me, Major D, just as long as the Mint gets something going along the line of “partial ASEs”.
Excellent points, Caliskier. The thought of it in pure silver is every appealing.
How come there is no dollar coin
There are many “dollar coins”, Katie. The American Silver Eagle, the Native American Dollar, the American Innovation Dollar, the Presidential Series Dollar, the Eisenhower Dollar, the Peace Dollar and the Morgan Dollar and a whole bunch of modern One Dollar Commemoratives, among others.
Standing liberty is also nice. Magic mike actually it was Rick’s I think that brought my attention to the st garden super incuse coin. Very deep, almost like a super duper pooper scooper ultra cameo. But his rates are high. Pretty coin though. 2022 I think. Mercanti design based off the original plaster mold from Adolph museum. 2 oz coin.
That’s another great design in the Mint’s history. I wonder, Dazed, what they could come up with based on the use of that image.
so who (or what) exactly is circulating half dollars in actual commerce (not just bank-to-collector)? slot machines I suppose, but anything else?
“Circulating half dollar” is a true oxymoron. Good luck finding a bank that has any on hand. Never mind getting one in change.
yes, unfortunate but true.
Whenever I go to my bank or credit inopn, I ask for half dollars or dollar coins and quite often they have them. It seems that the banks still have these but nobody asks. Maybe next time you visit your brand you might just remember to ask and you might be surprised.
To my fellow coin collectors and all ships at sea…let’s not forgo the Half Dollar!
The 2 roll set is in unavailable since early afternoon