2023 Kennedy Half Dollars Released for Collectors

18

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.

The United States Mint is offering circulating editions of 2023 P&D Kennedy Half Dollars
The United States Mint is offering circulating editions of 2023 P&D Kennedy Half Dollars

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.

2022-D Kennedy Half Dollar (obverse)
2022-D Kennedy Half Dollar (obverse)

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.

2022 Kennedy Half Dollar (reverse)
2022 Kennedy Half Dollar (reverse)

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.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

18 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Kaiser Wilhelm

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.

b336f5fe-c912-456b-8e40-8cfc0866a423.54baa4847be444318c14e703ac56d15f.jpeg
Eric ellingwood

Agreed bring the walking liberty half back into production. Keep it silver and make the Kennedy half dollars silver again.

Major D

why?

Kaiser Wilhelm

It’s only rock ‘n roll but I like it. I suppose that’s enough reason for me.

Caliskier

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?

94C47F96-84B0-41D1-B877-723F437784A1.jpeg
Major D

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.

Kaiser Wilhelm

That would be okay by me, Major D, just as long as the Mint gets something going along the line of “partial ASEs”.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Excellent points, Caliskier. The thought of it in pure silver is every appealing.

Katie Walker

How come there is no dollar coin

Kaiser Wilhelm

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.

Dazed and Coinfused

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.

Kaiser Wilhelm

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.

c_q

so who (or what) exactly is circulating half dollars in actual commerce (not just bank-to-collector)? slot machines I suppose, but anything else?

morgan

“Circulating half dollar” is a true oxymoron. Good luck finding a bank that has any on hand. Never mind getting one in change.

Major D

yes, unfortunate but true.

JWP

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.

Kaiser Wilhelm

To my fellow coin collectors and all ships at sea…let’s not forgo the Half Dollar!

Mmk

The 2 roll set is in unavailable since early afternoon