What's up plebs?
Yesterday I had a visit from a good friend that I didn't have the chance to meet during the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately now with the kids and everything there is only so much time for socializing ๐
He knows I am into silver and shit so there was something appropriate among the gifts he gave me!
Check it out:
Sweet! A Kennedy half dollar! And one from 1964, the first year they were minted which means it's 90% silver.
In case you don't know it, the ones minted 1965 and later had only 40% silver. And that till 1971, when the silver was eliminated entirely from the half dollar.
These coins have a weight of 12.5 g, hence 11.25 g of pure silver. With today's spot price at 0.75 $ per g, this means that a half dollar from 1964 has about 8.5 worth of melt value. Aged like fine wine. Unlike the real JFK. Lel.
If memory serves me right, this is my second 1964 Kennedy, along with some 0.400 pieces from later years.
Here are some more shots I took off the coin:
Some Brief History
The Kennedy half dollar was authorized by Congress just over a month after the assassination of the 35th president of the United States John F. Kennedy.
But why was the half dollar selected for JFK? Turns out the decision was largely influenced by his wife:
Mint Director Eva Adams called Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts, informing him that serious consideration was already being given to depicting Kennedy on one of the larger silver coins: either the silver dollar, half dollar, or quarter dollar. Adams called Roberts again on November 27 and authorized the project, stating that the late president's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy preferred that he be depicted on the half dollar,replacing the previous design of Benjamin Franklin. Mrs. Kennedy's reasoning was that she did not want to replace George Washington on the quarter. source
Soon after the release, the coin was hoarded by silver stackers and everyday peeps who wished to have an affordable novelty JFK item. As aforementioned, silver purity was dropped to just 40% from 1965 and onwards, which was hoarded hard as well. From 1971 and onwards silver was ditched for a copper-nickel alloy.
In 2014, a special 50th anniversary edition of the coin was struck in 99.99% gold but unfortunately I am too pleb too afford that ๐
Anyways, here's a link to Wikipedia with a more extensive breakdown of the coin and history if you fancy a long read.
And here's a link in case you haven't heard of JFK before. He was short of a big deal !
Ok friends, hope you enjoyed reading about the Kennedy half dollar! Definitely one of the most beautiful pieces of US constitutional silver, featuring one of the most (if not the most!) beloved presidents of the United States!
Btw, if you have any old US coins you may want to check em, and who knows, maybe you get lucky! My father had a jar with coins from his trips all over the world and one day I had a look and boom! A 1965 Kennedy was there. :)
Re-blog Lottery
Here's a quick treat if you reached all the way down here. I will be giving 5 Hbi (total of 10) to two lucky winners, just re-blog the post for a chance to enter. No vote or comment required but I would be lieing if I say I don't like those too ๐ค
The last time's winners are @filotasriza3 and @saffisara. I will be getting their hbis soon after publishing this post ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ
Fun Silver Posts
Enjoyed the post? Here is some more fun silver/monetary content I have written in the past that you might enjoy:
- The country that uses plastic coins!
- The bizarre coins of Cook Islands
- Infographic: What Type of Silver Whale are you?
- My silver pocket piece
- My favorite piece from the stack
- The 10 Million Dollar Coin
- This is where gold really comes from!
- That's one big nugget!
- The Ten Thousand Dollar Bill ?!?!
- Biggest Gold Coin Ever
- A coin made of cardboard
- The microorganism that poops gold!
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