FREE: 1976 Bicentenial Half Dollar Circulated

The half dollar's circulation, aside from use in some casinos and movie theaters, has declined significantly. By the early 1960s the value of silver had risen to the point that it became worthwhile to melt down U.S. coins for their bullion content. U.S. silver coins (those of 10-cent value and above, which contained 90 percent silver through 1964) began to disappear from circulation, leading the United States to change to layered composition coins made of a copper core laminated between two cupro-nickel outer faces for the 1965–present coinage years. The Kennedy half-dollar design, however, continued to be minted in a 40 percent silver-clad composition from 1965 to 1970. To find the value of a half-dollar, multiply the current market price for silver by 0.36169 for 1964 issues, and by 0.1479 for all issues 1965 to 1970.