Collecting the 1943 Half Dollar: Highest Mintage Of The Walking Liberty Half Dollars
The 1943 half dollar had the highest mintage of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar series, with a total mintage of 77,986,000 coins minted at all 3 mints.
53,190,000 examples of the 1943 half dollar were struck at the Philadelphia mint, 11,346,000 were struck at the Denver Mint, and 13,450,000 were struck at the San Francisco Mint. You can tell which Mint branch struck a 1943 half dollar by looking for the mint mark on the reverse of the coin. It is located to the left of the eagle's feet. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark, Denver coins will have a D mint mark, and San Francisco coins will have an S mint mark.
The 1943 half dollar is a 90% silver coin that contains .3617 ounces of pure silver.
This means the coin will always be worth at least its weight in silver. This makes the 1943 half dollar and all Walking Liberty half dollars attractive from an investment standpoint because they are a great hedge against inflation. They will always have intrinsic value and will never be valued less than the spot price of the silver they contain.
The value of the 1943 half dollar remains constant across all the mint marks in lower grades, but differs significantly in the upper grades.
There is usually a significant jump in value between MS-60 and MS-65 examples in uncirculated grades. Here are the values for each mint mark:
1943 Half Dollar Value Philadelphia Mint:
G-4 $7.40 VG-8 $7.50 F-12 $7.00 VF-20 $8.04 XF-40 $10.20 AU-50 $13.00 MS-60 $30.00 MS-63 $55 MS-65 $150
1943 Half Dollar Value Denver Mint:
G-4 $7.40 VG-8 $7.80 F-12 $7.90 VF-20 $8.50 XF-40 $10.00 AU-50 $25.00 MS-60 $42.00 MS-65 $295
1943 Half Dollar Value San Francisco Mint
G-4 $7.40 VG-8 $7.80 F-12 $7.90 VF-20 $8.50 XF-40 $10.00 AU-50 $18.50 MS-60 $42.00 MS-65 $460
The 1943 half dollar also includes a double die obverse variety from the Denver Mint:
1943 D Double Die Obverse Value:
G-4 $7.60 VG-8 $7.50 F-12 $9.00 VF-20 $12.00 XF-40 $15.00 AU-50 $30.00 MS-60 $55.00 MS-65 $450
These 1943 half dollar coins are readily available and easy to purchase.
Make sure to add a 1943 half dollar or two to your collection!
Collecting The 1968 Half Dollar| Second Last Year For Silver Half Dollars In Circulation
The 1968 half dollar was the second last year that Kennedy Half Dollars contained silver in a circulation strike.
The circulation strikes for these 40% silver halves were all minted at the Denver Mint. The mint struck 246,951,930 examples of the 1968 half dollar, all having the D mint mark. This is the third highest mintage for silver Kennedy half dollars.
The San Francisco mint struck 3,041,506 proof examples of the 1968 half dollar, that were never released for circulation. These have the S mint mark. This was the first year Kennedy proofs were minted in San Francisco. Up until this date, all the proofs were minted at the Philadelphia Mint. These were meant for collectors and to be included in proof sets. If you find a 1968 half dollar with an S mint mark in circulation, it is likely that it was broken out of a stolen proof set and spent.
The 1968 half dollar contains about .1749 ounces of pure silver.
Multiplying this number by the spot price of silver will give you the bullion value of a 1968 half dollar. At the time of this post silver was trading at about $16 an ounce, making 40% silver half dollars coin worth $2.80 per coin.
Because of the introduction of clad coinage in 1965, the 1968 half dollar was frequently hoarded and not often circulated because it had silver content above its face value. As a result, most will be in a high grade, with fewer circulated coins showing up. Coins for collecting should be bought in a higher grade.
A popular way to collect the 1968 half dollar is by buying them by the roll.
A roll of these halves will contain 3.5 ounces of pure silver. Multiplying by the spot price will give you the value. At the time of this post the bullion value would have been $56 a roll. Uncirculated bank rolls will carry a premium above the bullion value.
 1968 KENNEDY D HALF DOLLAR BU SILVER  US $7.99
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 1968 JFK D Mark Half Dollar Coin US $4.00
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 1968 Kennedy Half Dollar US $2.69
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 Lot of 4 Kennedy Silver Half Dollar Coins 1967 1968 1969 US $7.69
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The 1968 half dollar is readily available on eBay both as single coins and in bulk rolls
1964 Half Dollar|1964 Kennedy Half Dollars: Last Year For The 90% Silver Half
The 1964 half dollar would likely have been a Franklin half dollar had it not been for the unfortunate events of November 22, 1963.
1964 Kennedy half dollars were issued to commemorate the fallen president and the coin was designed just 5 days after his death. The Franklin half had only been in production 15 years and was not due for replacement for 9 more years.
The 1964 half dollar was released as a tribute to President Kennedy, and it marked the end of an era in coin collecting as well. The 1964 half dollar was hoarded by collectors as well as the average citizen due to the overwhelmingly positive sentiment for the late President. Then the US went off its silver standard in 1965 and this caused the 1964 Kennedy half dollars as well as all other silver coinage to rapidly disappear from circulation.
As a result of this, the 1964 half dollar is most often seen with little to no wear, with uncirculated examples being extremely common.
The 1964 Kennedy half dollars had a mintage of 277,254,766 coins at the Philadelphia Mint and 156,205,466 coins from the Denver Mint. Proofs were struck in Philadelphia. The coins are 90% silver and contain .3617 ounces of pure silver. Any circulated coins will be worth their silver content. In XF-40 they are valued at $5.75 and in MS-60 they are worth $6. In MS-65 this coin books for $20.
A popular way to buy the 1964 half dollar is by the roll.
An uncirculated 1964 half dollar bank roll will carry a premium over its silver value, and even circulated rolls will sell well as silver is very popular with the poor monetary policy of our government at this time. Buying the 1964 half dollar in quantity is a way to hedge against the inflation our government's runaway inflation is sure to bring.
The 1964 half dollar is readily available on eBay.