Values
A 1965–1970 Kennedy half’s market depends on the date, 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 40 percent silver years 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. 1965 is the first 40 percent 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 40 percent date 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.
1965–1970 40 percent silver. That is this page’s alloy. It is not an error and not a key.
1964 90 percent silver. That first-year alloy lives on the 1964 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 40 percent table.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Kennedy page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
The 40 percent silver alloy is this series. The portrait does not change. Circulation coins from 1965 through 1967 have no mint mark. The Bicentennial reverse is not this page.
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 1965–1970 40 percent silver only. NGC printed counts for 1965–1967, 1969-D, and 1970-D. 1968-D is the Wikipedia business-strike count. 1964 and clad 1971+ live on their own pages. The 1976-S 40 percent silver half is a later planchet and is not a row in this year range.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | P | 65,879,366 | 16708 | $10.25 | $10.50 | $15.25 |
| 1966 | P | 108,984,932 | 16709 | $10.25 | $10.50 | $15.25 |
| 1967 | P | 295,046,978 | 16710 | $10.25 | $10.50 | $15.25 |
| 1968 | D | 246,951,930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1969 | D | 129,881,800 | 16712 | $10.25 | $10.50 | $15.25 |
| 1970 | D | 2,150,000 | 16713 | $10.25 | $10.50 | $20 |
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 1965–1970 40 percent silver only. 1968-D is the Wikipedia business-strike count NGC left blank, retrieved 2026-10-06. 1964 90 percent and clad 1971+ live on their own pages. 1776–1976 is not a row here. The 1976-S 40 percent silver half is a later planchet and stays off this year range. 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 when there is one. Circulation 1965–1967 have none.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A 1965–1970 Kennedy half is 40 percent silver. Thickness stays the half-dollar figure. 1964 90 percent and clad 1971+ are other pages.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Thickness | 2.15 mm |
| Weight | 11.5 g |
| Composition | 40% silver clad |
| Fine silver | 0.1479 troy oz. Melt math uses this figure. It does not appraise a coin. |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Gilroy Roberts / Frank Gasparro |
Thickness 2.15 mm, weight 11.5 g, and 40 percent silver are the Numista 40 percent Kennedy type-page figures (N#10865). Fine silver is the same 0.1479 troy oz the melt calculator uses for a 40 percent Kennedy half. Diameter follows the circulating half-dollar standard. 1964 90 percent and clad 1971+ live on their own pages.
Grading
A 1965–1970 Kennedy half wears first on Kennedy’s hair and cheek, and on the shield and wings. This page is the 40 percent silver years only.
The alloy change is not a key-date story. 1964 90 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 | 1965–1970 is 40 percent silver clad. 1964 90 percent and 1971+ clad are other pages. | Alloy is composition, not a grade and not a key date. |
| Date | The numerals under the bust. Circulation 1965–1967 have no mint mark. | A worn date is 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 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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.
- 40 percent 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 Kennedy halves exist for part of this run. 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 40 percent Kennedy half is a United States half dollar struck on Gilroy Roberts’s portrait and Frank Gasparro’s reverse in 40 percent silver from 1965 through 1970. Collectors mean those years when they say 40 percent Kennedy. The same design starts in 90 percent silver and continues later in clad. Those other coins are not this melt.
For the 1964 90 percent year, read the 1964 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
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. This page is the middle alloy only. 1776–1976 used a different reverse. This page will not dump that Bicentennial into the 40 percent table as a key.
This page will not invent a shop list or a melt story that treats 1965 like 90 percent.
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. Circulation strikes from 1965 through 1967 have no mint mark. 40 percent silver versus 90 percent or clad is composition, not a grade.
People Also Ask
What years are 40 percent Kennedy halves?
Circulation Kennedy halves from 1965 through 1970 are 40 percent silver. 1964 is 90 percent silver. Circulation coins from 1971 on are copper-nickel clad. Those other alloys live on their own pages.
How much is a 40 percent Kennedy half worth?
It depends on the date, 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 1965 Kennedy halves 90 percent silver?
No. 1965 through 1970 is 40 percent silver clad. 1964 is the 90 percent year. That is a different page and a different melt.
Is 1965 a key date Kennedy half?
No. 1965 is the first 40 percent 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 40 percent table.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story. A common 40 percent date in a high grade can cost more than a worn 1964 someone called “the silver one” 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 90 percent year, read the 1964 Kennedy half. For clad, read the Kennedy half.
A Final Word
40 percent Kennedy halves reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark when there is one. Look at the hair and the shield. Leave the polish under the sink. Do not call a 1965 half 90 percent because the face looks the same.
When you want the other Kennedy alloys on this site, the 1964 Kennedy half and the Kennedy half are already here.