Most Americans who were alive in 1963 can still remember exactly what they were doing when they heard that President Kennedy had been shot. Just a few hours later, news reports told the nation and the wider world that the president had been killed.
In 1964 a coin was created in Kennedy’s honor, known as the Kennedy Half Dollar. The 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar is highly collectible, especially in uncirculated condition as this is the first year that the coin was released.
Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro designed the 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar. It was minted in large quantities at the Philadelphia and Denver mints and was hoarded by the general public. The coin has a diameter of 30.61 millimeters and a weight of 11.50 grams.
The Kennedy half dollar was released to the American public amid much excitement on the 24th of March 1964. Few of these coins ever achieved circulation as the grieving nation quickly hoarded them. The Kennedy half dollar was considered a keepsake, and the mint couldn’t keep up with the coin’s demand.
The Kennedy half dollar was minted into the million in 1964, with a total of 273,304,004 coins being struck. This was far more than in other years.
