Ordering opened today, June 1, for circulation quality coins honoring the 35th President of the United States. The United States Mint is now selling rolls and bags of 2020 John F. Kennedy Half Dollars.
Priced at $147, a bag contains 200 half-dollars with 100 from the Philadelphia Mint and 100 from the Denver Mint. A two-roll set is $34.50 and includes one roll of 20 coins from Philadelphia and one roll of 20 coins from Denver. While the halves carry circulating finishes, they have never been released into circulation.
In fact, half dollars have not been circulated for commerce since 2002 when low demand left the U.S. Mint producing them only for numismatic purposes such as these just released roll and bag products. Kennedy 50-cent pieces actually date back to 1964 when they debuted shortly after the assassination of President Kennedy.
Mintages for the coins have varied over the years with the most significant drop occurring after their departure from circulation. The chart below shows production of the coins since 2000.
2000 – 2020 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 | 4,700,000 |
| 2018 | 5,800,000 |
| 2019 | 3,400,000 |
| 2020* | 3,600,000 |
*The 2020 figure is a year to date mintage. However, since half dollars now have relatively modest annual mintages and they are made solely for coin collectors, usually their production total is set in stone by this time of year.
Recent Sales of 50c Rolls and Bags
The U.S. Mint continues to sell 2019-dated halves. The following table presents their sales figures as of May 24, 2020, plus those of other 50-cent roll and bag products since 2011.
| Latest Sales | Total Coins | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 8,834 | 2,637,000 |
| 2019 P&D Two-Roll Set | 21,755 | |
| 2018 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 9,498 | 2,804,480 |
| 2018 P&D Two-Roll Set | 22,622 | |
| 2017 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 10,321 | 3,014,080 |
| 2017 P&D Two-Roll Set | 23,747 | |
| 2016 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 11,393 | 3,218,240 |
| 2016 P&D Two-Roll Set | 23,491 | |
| 2015 P&D 200-Coin Bag | 13,762 | 3,891,880 |
| 2015 P&D Two-Roll Set | 28,487 | |
| 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 the rolls and bags directly from the U.S. Mint’s website page deducted to half dollars. There are no household ordering limits.
The 2013 very high sales number of double the average of these coins was an anomaly caused by the Federal Reserve. The Fed ordered about 6 million of these coins in 2013 & the Mint struck them – then when the Mint contacted the Fed to make arrangements for delivery of the coins, the Fed realized they made a clerical data entry error & refused to take delivery of the coins! The Mint only sold close to 3 million of the 2013 half dollars & still have the nearly 4 million coins left in their vaults gathering dust!
NumisdudeTX
Seth, that’s really interesting. i was wondering why there was such a big number in between the two low ones. the federal reserve, go figure!
well the fed could take delivery now and dole these out to the public as helicopter money. it might hurt though.