Honoring the 35th President of the United States, rolls and bags of 2017 Kennedy Half-Dollars are now available from the U.S. Mint.
These coins are produced to circulation-quality at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints with pricing for a two-roll set of 40 coins at $32.95 and bags of 200 coins at $139.95 each. They have either the ‘P’ or ‘D’ mint mark to denote their origin, and the same goes for their U.S. Mint-branded packaging.
New half-dollars were authorized by Congress just weeks after Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963 and they have been released annually since 1964. However, because of declining demand, they have not been made for circulation since 2001. They are produced now only for numismatic purposes such as for these roll and bag products. The table below illustrates how 50c mintages have mostly dropped since that change.
2000 – 2016 Kennedy Half-Dollar Mintages
| Total Mintage | |
| 2000 | 42,070,000 |
| 2001 | 40,700,000 |
| 2002 | 5,600,000 |
| 2003 | 5,000,000 |
| 2004 | 5,800,000 |
| 2005 | 7,300,000 |
| 2006 | 4,400,000 |
| 2007 | 4,800,000 |
| 2008 | 3,400,000 |
| 2009 | 3,800,000 |
| 2010 | 3,500,000 |
| 2011 | 3,450,000 |
| 2012 | 3,500,000 |
| 2013 | 9,600,000 |
| 2014 | 4,600,000 |
| 2015 | 4,600,000 |
| 2016 | 4,200,000 |
| 2017 | 3,600,000 |
The 3.6 million mintage total of 2017 Kennedy halves includes 1.8 million from Denver and 1.8 million from Philadelphia. Those figures are through January, but the amount produced early in a year is usually enough to satisfy collector demand for all of it.
Recent Sales of 50c Rolls and Bags
The U.S. Mint continues to sell 2015-and 2106-dated halves. The following table offers the latest sales figures for them as of Feb. 12, plus those of other 50-cent roll and bag products since 2011.
| Latest Sales | Total Coins | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 10,000 | 2,857,200 |
| 2016 P&D Two-Roll Set | 21,430 | |
| 2015 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 13,593 | 3,829,520 |
| 2015 P&D Two-Roll Set | 27,773 | |
| 2014 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 12,967 | 3,806,640 |
| 2014 P&D Two-Roll Set | 30,331 | |
| 2013 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 9,980 | 2,992,720 |
| 2013 P&D Two-Roll Set | 24,918 | |
| 2012 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 10,323 | 3,415,240 |
| 2012 P&D Two-Roll Set | 33,766 | |
| 2011 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 9,455 | 3,002,280 |
| 2011 P&D Two-Roll Set | 27,782 |
Ordering
Order coin rolls and bags from the U.S. Mint’s website at www.usmint.gov. A link to its page of 50-cent products is right here. There are no household ordering limits.
I take it these are clad and no 40% silver.
DrWho7
Yes, clad.
No silver coins have been made for circulation in the USA since 1969.
-NumisDudeTX
Seth,
Where can I get the Magical Congress coin with the Eagle GILDED in 24k? I saw it briefly but lost it when I hit the wrong button. I would appreciate your help. Thank you.
DrWho7
I’ve always liked the Kennedy design, and Mint’s decision to return to Frank Gasparro’s original sculpting is a big improvement.
That said, maybe it’s time for a new design on a smaller coin that would return the denomination to regular use. We’re down to only three functional denominations; certainly a more-practical sized 50¢ piece would cut down on the flood of quarters filling cash registers.
Munzen – The only place I ever saw Kennedy half dollars “circulate” was on my 14 trips to Las Vegas over a 12 year period in the 1990s & early 2000 (I am NOT an addictive gambler & it never appealed to me till my best female friend convinced me it would be “fun” & I fell for it & it was fun watching my money disappear in slot machines! Like a 1-armed bandit magician taking my money LOL). But by that time period there were only a few 50-cent slots in the casinos as the $1 slots are the… Read more »
Hi Seth, I was thinking more about half dollars in general rather than the Kennedy design specifically. I started collecting in elementary school – more years ago than I care to admit, but well before 1964 – and at that time halves circulated regularly. I was able to assemble a nearly-complete set of Franklins and about 60% of all Walkers just by going through the change drawer in my grandfather’s store in Philly. However in the grief following the tragedy in Dallas any memento of the late president was snapped up almost immediately, and the new halves were the most… Read more »
Munzen – Thanks for your reflections on the half dollar. Canada stopped making the half dollar for circulation also about the year 2000. I was born the year before JFK was assassinated, & fast forward to 1976 my father got assigned to a very small NSA base in Bavaria (about an hour bus ride south of Munich) & I was going on 14 yo & was in full collector mode. I was a bit surprised at the time talking with German nationals who worked on our post that they all had at least one roll of Kennedy half dollars due… Read more »
Seth, thanks for your kind comments. At the risk of moving away from coins for a couple of lines: I envy the opportunities you had growing up. When I was that age my dad was starting a new business so travel was pretty limited except for one camping trip through the northeast US and Canada. Since then I’ve been abroad several times, mostly to places in northern Europe where parts of my and my wife’s families originated. I also spent a week in Normandy to honor a cousin who gave his life at St-Lô, and like you I found a… Read more »
Half dollars could probably be pushed back into circulation if the Federal Banking System only allowed banks to order “fractional dollars” for a couple years (i.e. their order would be given to them as 50% quarters and 50% halves). People would grumble at first, but they’d get used to it and the coin would be resurrected. Outside that kind of push, Walmart could probably single-handedly revive the denomination if they started using it in their stores. And keeping the “fractional dollar” idea in mind, had the Mint made the 50 State program a half-dollar program and the Fed forced the… Read more »