Half Dollars

About Half Dollars

The half dollar denomination was authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792. Half dollars were first minted in December 1794, and have been produced almost continuously since then. The Act of January 18, 1837, changed the coins' silver fineness from .8924 to .900, which remained the standard until 1965. Weight changes in the early 1850s and early 1870s were indicated by minor temporary design additions, including arrows placed at the date. Half dollars include some of the most popular U.S. coin types. Collectors study the early types by die varieties, of which many exist for most years. (Listings shown herein are for the most common varieties.) The Liberty Seated series was minted for more than fifty years in the 1800s. Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber's Liberty Head motif graced the denomination at the turn of the twentieth century. The Liberty Walking half dollar was struck from 1916 through 1947, though not in all years. Benjamin Franklin was the coin's subject from 1948 through 1963, followed by the last circulating silver coin of the denomination, the Kennedy half dollar, first minted in 1964. Its silver fineness was changed to .400 in 1965, and silver was eliminated from the denomination's circulating coins in 1971.