Description

2002-S 90% Silver Kennedy 50C half dollar. You will receive the 90% proof silver Kennedy Half Dollar in a plastic flip. If you purchase a roll of 20 silver proof half dollars, your items will come in a hard plastic tube. These coins were minted at the San Francisco mint. A complete roll of (20) 90% Silver Proof Kennedy Half Dollars will contain a total of 7.2336 oz of silver bullion. All of these coins were pulled from sealed US Mint silver proof sets and extreme care was taken not to touch or contaminate the 90% Proof Silver quarter in any way. To preserve their condition, these coins were placed in a plastic tube holder and were extracted from the original slabs using cotton gloves.

*Important Note*

• These coins were only inspected to verify the year and count.
• They were not inspected to cull for cameos, deep cameos, variations, toned coins or mint errors.
• Expect to receive a mix of mostly gem proofs and a few toned/discolored/tarnished coins.
• The roll was comprised of a random inventory of 40 silver Kennedy half dollar slabs and thus that is what you will receive.
• The older the coins, the more likely it is to receive toned/discolored or tarnished coins.
• The photo attached to this listing is a stock photo, but a representation as to what you will receive.

History

The Kennedy half dollar, first minted in 1964, is a fifty-cent coin currently issued by the United States Mint. Intended as a memorial to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy, it was authorized by Congress just over a month after his death. Use of existing works by Mint sculptors Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro allowed dies to be prepared quickly, and striking of the new coins began in January 1964.

The silver coins vanished from circulation upon their release in March 1964 due to collectors, hoarders, and those interested in a memento of the late president. Although the Mint greatly increased production, the denomination was seldom seen in circulation. Continued rises in the price of silver increased the hoarding—many early Kennedy half dollars have been melted for their silver. Starting with 1965-dated pieces, the percentage of fine silver was reduced from 90% to 40% (silver clad), but even with this change the coin saw little circulation.

In 1971, silver was eliminated entirely from the coins. A special design for the reverse of the half dollar was issued for the United States Bicentennial and was struck in 1975 and 1976. In addition to business strikes, special collector coins were struck for the Bicentennial in silver clad; silver proof sets in which the dime, quarter and half dollar were struck in 90% silver were first minted in 1992. In 2014 a special edition of the Kennedy half dollar was also struck in 99.99% gold.

Even though ample supplies of circulating half dollars are now available, their circulation is extremely limited. Since 2002, Kennedy half dollars have only been struck to satisfy the demand from collectors, and are available at a premium through the Mint. With the exception of 1965 through 1967, proofs have been struck each year in the same metallic composition as regular issue pieces. The first Kennedy half dollar proofs were struck in early January 1964. Early strikes depicted Kennedy with heavily accented hair; an estimated 100,000 coins were truck with this feature. This was altered for the remainder of the mintage of nearly four million proof coins.

Due to the coin shortage, the Treasury Department announced that no proof sets would be struck in 1965. Instead, Special Mint Sets would be struck to satisfy collector demand. Coins for these sets, minted at the San Francisco Assay Office, were struck with no mint marks early in 1966 with heavily polished dies dated 1965. Similar sets bearing the dates 1966 and 1967 were also struck. A few of the 1966 halves from the Special Mint Sets are known with Gasparro’s initials ‘FG’ missing from the reverse, apparently because of an over polished die.

The first year’s production was sold in soft plastic packaging; the 1966 and 1967 issues were sonically sealed in hard plastic cases. In 1968, regular proof coinage was resumed, although production of proof coins was shifted to San Francisco, the ‘S’ mintmark added and sets were encapsulated in hard plastic. In 1973, Congress authorized silver-clad collector versions of the Bicentennial coins; in April 1975, the Mint began to strike them. The coins were issued in both proof and uncirculated quality. Copper-nickel clad Bicentennial coins were placed in both the 1975 and 1976 proof sets, while their silver clad counterparts were sold in three coin sets.

Since 1992, the Mint has struck Kennedy half dollars in 90% silver for inclusion in special silver proof sets. 1964 proofs were struck in Philadelphia, and since 1968, proof coins have been struck in San Francisco only.