Values
A 1964 Kennedy half’s market depends on the mint mark and the grade. Melt is a different conversation. This page is a series reference, not a price list. This page is the 90 percent silver year only.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
This page does not invent a key-date list. 1964 is the first year and the 90 percent silver year. That is not a key. NGC Coin Explorer is the catalog used for this pass.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn 1964 is still worn.
No key-date list is printed here yet.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. This is a name list, not a price list.
Errors
These are named type facts. They are not extra invented rows.
1964 90 percent silver. That is the first-year alloy. It is not an error and not a key.
1965–1970 40 percent silver. That is a later spec. It lives on the 40% Kennedy half page.
1971 clad. The circulating alloy changes again. It lives on the Kennedy half page.
1776–1976 Bicentennial reverse. Different reverse. Not a row on this 1964 table.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Kennedy page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
Circulation 1964 is one silver type. The hair variety guides name is a proof. Later alloys are other pages.
- 1964 proof Accented HairProof 1964 halves come with Accented Hair, a deeper hair detail over the ear that PCGS and NGC name, and with the regular hair. Circulation 1964 is one type. This page does not print a proof count.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
This chart is 1964 90 percent silver only. 1964-P stays the NGC count. 1964-D is the Wikipedia business-strike count, and it leaves the proofs out of that Denver row. Later Kennedy alloys live on their own pages.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | P | 273,304,004 | 16706 | $25 | $25.50 | $30 |
| 1964 | D | 156,205,446 | — | — | — | — |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
This chart is 1964 90 percent silver only. 1964-P stays the NGC count. 1964-D is the Wikipedia business-strike count, retrieved 2026-10-06, and does not include the proofs NGC kept out of the Philadelphia row. 1965–1970 40 percent and clad 1971+ live on their own pages. 1776–1976 is not a row here. 1964 is not a key because the alloy is 90 percent. Guide cells retrieved 2026-08-23.
These are NGC Explorer manufacture figures, retrieved 2026-08-23, not a Red Book net or melt. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Read the mint mark. Do not call 1964 a key because it is silver.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A 1964 Kennedy half is 90 percent silver. Thickness stays the half-dollar figure. Later Kennedy alloys are other pages.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Thickness | 2.15 mm |
| Weight | 12.5 g |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Fine silver | 0.36169 troy oz. Melt math uses this figure. It does not appraise a coin. |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Gilroy Roberts / Frank Gasparro |
Thickness 2.15 mm is the Numista clad Kennedy type page (N#6918). 1964 is 12.5 g / .900 fine. 1965–1970 is 40 percent silver (0.1479 troy oz). Clad 1971+ is 11.34 g. See also the U.S. Mint half-dollar page and 31 U.S.C. § 5112.
Grading
A 1964 Kennedy half wears first on Kennedy’s hair and cheek, and on the shield and wings. This page is the 90 percent silver year only.
The alloy change is not a key-date story. Do not invent a 1964 key because the first year is 90 percent silver. 1965–1970 40 percent and clad 1971+ live on their own pages.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Kennedy’s hair and cheek | The hair above the ear and the cheekbone. | Those high points flatten while the coat can still look busy. |
| Shield and wings | The presidential seal, the shield lines, and the wing feathers. | The shield goes slick first. Read the shield, not the story. |
| Alloy | 1964 is 90 percent silver. Later Kennedy alloys are other pages. | Alloy is composition, not a grade and not a key date. |
| Date | The numerals under the bust. This page is 1964 only. | A worn 1964 is still a worn half. 1776–1976 is a different reverse. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set. Guide values on this page came from the NGC Price Guide.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A silver half you can still name if you already know the type.
- Kennedy’s hair is gone.
- The shield is a lump.
- the date may be a shadow. Shine does not raise this.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points are already slick.
- Kennedy’s hair is worn to a blank patch.
- The shield is not a conversation yet.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Kennedy’s hair is flat. The portrait is a head, not a face.
- The shield is outlined.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits next to kennedy’s hair.
- The shield starts to hint at itself.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Kennedy’s hair is outlined and tired.
- The shield shows leftover lines, not a full coat.
- the date should be clear.
VF
Very Fine
The design is doing real work. The high points still decide.
- Leftover detail sits in kennedy’s hair.
- The shield has leftover lines. The center is still the worn spot.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on kennedy’s hair and the shield.
- Those spots go first. A pretty tone does not hide a flat high point.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on kennedy’s hair.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub is still rub.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on kennedy’s hair or the shield.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on kennedy’s hair.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- 1964 silver is composition, not a key.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean example of the type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on kennedy’s hair or the shield.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof 1964 Kennedy halves exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one in the 2026-08-23 sheet used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. Those belong on copper coins. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A 1964 Kennedy half is a United States half dollar struck on Gilroy Roberts’s portrait and Frank Gasparro’s reverse in 90 percent silver. Collectors mean that first year when they say 90 percent Kennedy. The same design continues in 40 percent silver and then in clad. Those later coins are not this melt.
For the 40 percent years, read the 40% Kennedy half page. For clad 1971+, read the Kennedy half page.
People like them because the portrait is easy to show someone across a table. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped coin looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
Franklin ends in 1963. Kennedy begins in 1964 in 90 percent silver. In 1965 the half moves to 40 percent silver. In 1971 the circulating half becomes copper-nickel clad. Those later alloys are other pages. 1776–1976 used a different reverse. This page will not dump that Bicentennial into the 1964 table as a key.
This page will not invent a shop list or a melt story to fill the years between.
Design
Obverse: Kennedy facing left, “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and the date. Reverse: the presidential seal, “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and “HALF DOLLAR.” Look at the hair, the cheek, and the shield. Those spots go flat first. 1964 silver versus later clad is composition, not a grade.
People Also Ask
What year is the 90 percent Kennedy half?
Circulation Kennedy halves in 90 percent silver are 1964 only. 1965 through 1970 is 40 percent silver. Circulation coins from 1971 on are copper-nickel clad. Those later alloys live on their own pages.
How much is a 1964 Kennedy half worth?
It depends on the mint mark and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. Melt is a different conversation. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Are all Kennedy halves silver?
No. 1964 is 90 percent silver. That is this page. 1965 through 1970 is 40 percent silver. Circulation coins from 1971 on are copper-nickel clad. That is composition, not a value quote.
Is 1964 a key date Kennedy half?
No. 1964 is the first year and the 90 percent silver year. An alloy change is not a key date. This page will not invent that story.
What about the 1776–1976 Kennedy half?
That Bicentennial reverse is a different design year. It is not a row on this 1964 table.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common 1964 in a high grade can cost more than a worn one someone called “silver” like that was the whole conversation.
If you inherited a box, do not scrub the date. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio.
For the half that came before, read the Franklin half. For the next alloy, read the 40% Kennedy half.
A Final Word
1964 Kennedy halves reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at the hair and the shield. Leave the polish under the sink. Do not call a later Kennedy 90 percent because the face looks the same.
When you want the next Kennedy alloy on this site, the 40% Kennedy half is already here.