Where to Find Halves

The first place to begin looking for half dollars is at the bank. Banks usually have several rolls of halves in the bank vault and tellers sometimes have loose coins in their change drawers. They can also be found in any cash-based business. Cashiers are usually willing to trade halves for other forms of cash because they are difficult to give back to customers and there isn’t space in cash drawers to hold them.
 
Mintmarks

The only mintmark on the half dollar minted between 1964 and 1979 is D, for the Denver, CO mint. On the 1964 half, the D mintmark is located on the reverse, next to the left talon of the eagle (the talon holding an olive branch.) Halves without a mintmark were minted at the Philadelphia, PA mint. From 1968 on, the mintmark is located on the obverse, centered over the date. In 1980, the P mintmark was used for coins minted in Philadelphia. Between 1965 and 1967, mintmarks were not used.

Composition of Kennedy Half Dollars

The 1964 Kennedy half dollar was struck in 90% fine silver. In 1965, the half was minted in silver clad and in 1971, the composition was changed to a copper-nickel clad. Silver clad consists of two outer layers of 80% silver with an inner core of 20.9% silver, giving '65-70 halves a silver content of 40%. Copper-nickel clad halves consist of two outer layers of nickel and an inner layer of copper.

Key Dates

Key dates are those coins which are the most importuned to completing a collection, usually low mintage coins. There are just 3 key dates needed to complete a circulated set of Kennedy half dollars: 1970, 1987P and 1987D. These were minted only for Special Mint sets, but can sometimes be found in circulation. Starting in 2002, the Mint no longer released halves for circulation, but has still continued to mint them for collectors. Although produced in limited numbers, but not minted for circulation, they are not considered to be key dates.

Kennedy half dollars are an excellent way to enter into the world of coin collecting. While not easy to find, they are not impossible, either. Halves dated 2002 and after are sometimes found in circulation, making the hunt a bigger part of collecting.