Kennedy Half Dollar Melt Value: 90% vs 40% Silver

A 1964 Kennedy half dollar contains 0.3617 troy ounces of silver; the 1965 to 1970 issues contain 0.1479 troy ounces. Multiply either figure by the current spot price for the melt value. Kennedy halves dated 1971 or later contain no silver at all.

The 1964 coin matches every other 90 percent half: 12.50 grams gross, 0.3617 troy ounces of silver. The 1965 to 1970 silver-clad coin is lighter at 11.50 grams and averages 40 percent silver, for 0.1479 troy ounces, less than half the metal despite a nearly identical appearance. That two-and-a-half-times difference in melt value between coins that look the same is exactly why dealers sort Kennedys by date before anything else. Compare both against every other US silver coin on the silver coin melt values table, or value a mixed batch with the junk silver calculator.

Three eras, split cleanly by date:

1964: 90 percent silver. The Kennedy half was authorized by Congress just over a month after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, with Gilroy Roberts's portrait on the obverse and Frank Gasparro's presidential seal on the reverse. Released in March 1964, the coins were hoarded immediately, both as mementos of the late president and as silver.

1965 to 1970: 40 percent silver. The Coinage Act of 1965 stripped silver from dimes and quarters but kept a reduced amount in the half dollar as a compromise: outer layers of 80 percent silver bonded to a core of about 21 percent silver, averaging 40 percent across the coin. The 1970 issues were struck only for collector sets (1970-D in mint sets, 1970-S as proofs), never released to circulation.

1971 onward: no silver. Circulation halves switched to the same copper-nickel clad used in dimes and quarters. The only later exceptions are silver proof and collector versions sold directly by the Mint.

The hoarding never really stopped: half dollars stopped circulating widely, and an outsized share of 1964 to 1970 halves survive today in rolls and coin jars, which keeps a steady supply flowing into the junk silver market.

The 1964 (90 percent) coin's melt value at round spot prices:

The 1965 to 1970 (40 percent) coin at the same prices:

The 1964 issue:

The 1965 to 1970 silver-clad issue:

For circulated coins, silver content is nearly the whole story: both the 1964 and the 40 percent issues were struck in the hundreds of millions, so common examples trade at melt plus a small dealer premium, with 40 percent halves typically carrying the lowest premium per ounce of any US silver coin. Collector value concentrates in special strikings: proof and special mint set coins, high-grade uncirculated examples, and recognized varieties bring more from specialists. The famous exception is the 1970-D, which was only available in mint sets and commands a collector premium in any condition because of its low distribution. The practical workflow for a jar of halves: sort 1964 from 1965 to 1970 from 1971 onward, price the first two groups with the live melt figures above, and set aside anything that appears to be from a collector set. Typical premiums are tracked on our coin premium page.