Eight designs in two hundred and thirty years

The first half dollar struck by the United States, and a coin that is collected as an artefact rather than as silver. Survivors are scarce in any grade.

Designer

Robert Scot

Diameter

32.5 mm

Most silver

0.3868 ozt ($26.58)

Struck in only a handful of years, with a long gap between 1797 and 1801. The 1796 and 1797 issues are among the great rarities of American coinage.

Designer

Robert Scot

Diameter

32.5 mm

Most silver

0.3868 ozt ($26.58)

The first half dollar minted in real quantity. Because banks held them as reserves rather than spending them, Capped Bust halves survive far better than most coinage of the period.

Designer

John Reich, later modified by Christian Gobrecht

Diameter

32.5 mm

Most silver

0.3868 ozt ($26.58)

Composition changed 1 time during this series: 1807-1836 89.24% silver, 1836-1839 90% silver.

Fifty-three years of production spanning three different weight standards, two rounds of arrows beside the date, and the Civil War. Weight is the thing to check before assuming any melt figure.

Designer

Christian Gobrecht

Diameter

30.6 mm

Most silver

0.3866 ozt ($26.57)

Composition changed 2 times during this series: 1839-1853 90% silver, 1853-1873 90% silver, 1873-1891 90% silver.

Workhorse silver coinage that circulated hard. Most surviving Barber halves are heavily worn, which is exactly why the well-struck ones command a premium far above their silver.

Designer

Charles E. Barber

Diameter

30.6 mm

Most silver

0.3617 ozt ($24.86)

Widely held to be the most beautiful US circulating coin ever struck, which is why its obverse was revived for the American Silver Eagle in 1986. Production was interrupted repeatedly in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Designer

Adolph A. Weinman

Diameter

30.6 mm

Most silver

0.3617 ozt ($24.86)

A short series, entirely 90% silver, ended early to put Kennedy on the half dollar. Collectors pay attention to whether the horizontal lines on the bell are fully struck.

Designer

John R. Sinnock

Diameter

30.6 mm

Most silver

0.3617 ozt ($24.86)

The only half dollar most people have handled, and the one that changed composition twice in seven years. Whether a Kennedy half contains silver depends entirely on its date.

Designer

Gilroy Roberts (obverse) and Frank Gasparro (reverse)

Diameter

30.6 mm

Most silver

0.3617 ozt ($24.86)

Composition changed 2 times during this series: 1964-1964 90% silver, 1965-1970 40% silver, 1971-2026 no.