The Kennedy half dollar , first printed in 1964, is a fifty cents coin currently issued by the United States Mint. Meant as a warning to President John F. Kennedy who was murdered, it was passed by Congress more than a month after his death. The use of existing works by Mint sculpors Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro allows death to be prepared quickly, and striking new coins began in January 1964.
The silver coins were stockpiled for their release in March 1964 by collectors and those interested in the reminiscences of the late president. Although Mint greatly increases production, the denomination rarely seems to be circulating. The steady rise in silver prices increases the hoarding - many of the early Kennedy half dollars have been melted for their silver. Beginning with 1965-dated pieces, the percentage of fine silver is reduced from 90% to 40% (silver dressing), but even with this change the coin sees little circulation.
In 1971, when silver was removed entirely from coins and production increased, the series began to look better, but circulation was still limited. A special design for the opposite of half a dollar was issued to the United States Bicentennial and was beaten in 1975 and 1976. In addition to business strikes, special collector coins were struck for Bicentennial in silver clothing; a set of silver proofs where a penny, a quarter and a half dollar beaten in 90% silver was first printed in 1992. In 2014, the Kennedy half-dollar special edition was also beaten in 99.99% gold.
Though many half-dollar supplies are available from most banks, their circulation is limited. Since 2002, the half-dollar Kennedy has just been hit hard to satisfy the collectors' demand, and is available at a premium price through Mint.
Video Kennedy half dollar
Inception
Within hours of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Mint Director Eva Adams summoned Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts, informing him that serious consideration had been given to describe Kennedy on one of the larger silver coins: both silver dollars, half a dollar , or a quarter of a dollar. Adams telephoned Roberts again on November 27 and authorized the project, stating that the widow of the late president, Jacqueline Kennedy preferred he portrayed it at half a dollar, replacing the earlier Benjamin Franklin design. The reason Ny. Kennedy is that he does not want to replace George Washington in this quarter.
In the interest of the time (the new coin strike would start in January 1964), Roberts modified the Kennedy statue that had been made for use on the Kennedy medal in the Presidential series, while Frank Gasparro began modifying the opposite. he has created the same medal. Both Roberts and Gasparro designs have been approved by Kennedy. Roberts met with Kennedy personally to show the early models of his design; Although the President declared no opinion on the depiction, Roberts decided to make some changes after meeting him. After Mint produced a strike attempt, Jacqueline and Robert Kennedy were invited to see it. Mrs. Kennedy looked at his design well, but suggested that his hair be slightly changed. It also suggested that a full or half-figure of the president be used in place of profiles, but Roberts noted that there was not enough time to produce an entirely new design due to time constraints of the project, and also that he believed the left-hand profile would give a more attractive appearance.
Frank Gasparro's reverse design of Kennedy's half-dollar was also influenced by the experience he gained from designing President John. F. Kennedy medal prize. In 1962, President Kennedy had three hundred medal awards struck by the United States Mint in Philadelphia which was then presented during June 23, 1963 through July 2, 1963 traveling to the countries of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany (West Berlin), Ireland, United Kingdom, Italy , and the Vatican City State. The reverse design of the Kennedy award medal portrays a larger and more detailed Presental Seal than he designed in the Mint Presidency series (Presidential Medal Bureau of # 135 medal series known as the President John F. Kennedy's inauguration medal). Gasparro's placement of FG initials is also located the same (under the right eagle's leg) on ​​Kennedy and Kennedy's half-dollar prize medal.
Congress approval is required for any design changes in the last 25 years. In early December, Representative Henry Gonzalez (Democrat-Texas) introduced a bill for Kennedy to appear at half a dollar. On December 10, the new President, Lyndon Johnson, authorized a summons for Kennedy's half-dollar, asking Congress to pass legislation immediately to allow a new cut strike to start early in 1964. President Johnson stated that he had been moved by letters from many members community to approve the plan. Bill to authorize a Kennedy half-dollar that was passed on 30 December 1963. Work was already under way on coin; the use of available designs made it possible for the first settlement to die on 2 January 1964. Only coins of evidence were initially beaten. The first Kennedy half-dollar meant for circulation was beaten at the Denver Mint on January 30, 1964, followed by Philadelphia Mint next week. The first ceremonial attacks were held in Philadelphia and Denver on February 11, 1964.
Maps Kennedy half dollar
Release
Initial popularity
The Treasury made coins available to the public starting March 24, 1964. A long block line formed at the departmental windows in Washington to purchase 70,000 coins originally allocated for public sale. Although the sales department is limited to 40 per customer, at the end of the day, the coins are gone, but the line is not shortened. Banks in Boston and Philadelphia quickly donated inventories, but still sold during the day. Sales in New York did not start until the next day, and rationing was also imposed there, on the dissatisfaction of the head of the coin department at Gimbels, the largest dealer in town, hoping to sell coins at a premium price..
The coins are also popular abroad. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen Williams distributed plastic specimens to the presidents and foreign ministers of African countries and to the US ambassadors who served there "to win friends for the United States in Africa". Shortly after the release of the coin, the Denver Mint began accepting complaints that the new coin depicted the hammer and sickle at the bottom of Kennedy's cut bust. In response, Roberts stated that part of the design in question is actually his monogram, a style " GR ".
The Mint knocked Kennedy a half dollar in bulk in an effort to meet the extraordinary demand. The Treasury Department initially planned to issue 91 million dollars for 1964, but raised it to 141 million. However, public announcements about the increase fail to cause more coins to actually circulate or lower prices in the secondary market. By the end of November, Mint had reached about 160 million pieces, but the coin was almost never seen in circulation. Silver prices increased, and most of the coins were stockpiled. Hoping that publishing more than 1964-dated coins would be against speculation in them, the Treasury requested and received Congressional authorization to continue hitting 1964-dated coins to 1965. Finally, nearly 430 million and a half dollars dated 1964 were hit, a larger number of total beaten for circulation within sixteen years of the Franklin half-dollar series.
This printing operation quickly depleted the silver stock from the Treasury Department. Prices for metals rose in such a way that, in early June, a penny contained 9.33 cents of silver at market prices. On June 3, 1965, President Johnson announced plans to remove silver from a penny and a quarter supported a layered sandwich with a nickel-copper coating on each side of a pure copper layer. Half dollars changed from 90% silver to 40%. Congress passed the 1965 Money Laundering Act in July. The new half dollar maintains their silvery appearance, because the outer layer becomes 80% silver and 20% copper. The coins were also printed with layers in 21% silver and 79% copper. The first half-dollar money was beaten at the Denver Mint on December 30, 1965. They wore it on 1965; the date will not change for US coins until the shortage of coins is reduced. Beginning on August 1, 1966, the Mint began attacking the 1966-date pieces, and afterwards resumed the striking normal practice of this year's date on each piece. Although reportedly ending a shortage of coins, Kennedy's half dollar circulated slightly, a scarcity caused by continued hoarding and decline in production, with Treasury reluctant to exclude more of the nation's silver holdings on unbound coins. According to coin dealers and numismatic writers Q. David Bowers,
"Where hundreds of millions of them go remains a bit of a mystery today.At the same time, the Washington quarter, the same design used since 1932, became the world's highest value coin, in terms of circulation usage.This is very popular for vending machines, arcade games, and Today, this continues to be the case, and Kennedy's a half dollar and mini dollar coin, hardly ever found. "
Switch to base metal
In May 1969, the Treasury sought authorization to remove the half-dollar silver content, converting it to a copper-nickel composition equal to one-tenth and one-quarter. The Treasury Department also asked for approval to attack the base metal dollar coin, which would fill the need for gaming tokens at Western casinos. Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower has died recently, and there is discussion about putting Eisenhower's likeness to the dollar. The Treasury hopes that with the removal of silver content, the coins will stop being dumped and circulated again. Despite President Richard Nixon's support, some Republicans in the House initially overturned the law, disliking the idea of ​​depicting Eisenhower on basic metal coins. The dispute continued for more than a year before President Nixon signed a bill on December 31, 1970 which certified the production of the Eisenhower dollar and wiped out the remaining 40% silver from half a dollar. As a result of the delay, in 1970, an unproved half dollar was only printed in Denver and only available in mint units. With a printing press of 2.1 million, the 1970-D half of Kennedy is considered a "key" coin in the series, although it is sufficiently produced to keep prices low. The Mint does not announce that a half-1970 dollar will not be struck for distribution until after ordering the mint set has been closed.
By the time silver was removed from half a dollar, it had long been in circulation so some banks had eliminated the slot for denomination of the machine. Mint anticipated a significant comeback for the denomination, but in July 1971, Mint Director Mary Brooks revealed that the Treasury held a $ 200 million base metal new half a dollar, as commercial banks expressed little interest in ordering it. "I can not understand the population, they do not use it." According to Brooks, most of the more than a billion Kennedy half-dollar that contains silver has been stockpiled by the public. Brooks theorizes that because Kennedy's silver half dollar never circulated much and some half a dollar was beaten in 1970 in anticipation of authorization to eliminate silver, the public has become accustomed not to see half a dollar in trading. Brooks suggested, "If the country knows there's a lot around them, they'll probably start hoarding it as well." In the mid-1970s, half dollar usage increased, but the big comeback projected by mint, never really materialized. On March 5, 1973, Brooks announced that Mint would request a new reverse design for half a dollar and a dollar to commemorate the 1976 United States Bicentennial. On October 18, President Nixon signed Public Law 93-127, which provided new upside designs for the quarter, a half dollar, and dollars. The design will be a symbol of the Bicentennial era. The Mint announces open competition for all American sculptors. Seth G. Huntington's design depicts Independence Hall elected for half a dollar. All the half of the dollar in 1975 and 1976 gave birth to the double dates 1776-1976 on the front design and Huntington on the contrary. Over 521 million and a half Bicentennial dollars were beaten for release.
Following the high mosaic of the Bicentennial piece, the number of pieces attacked per year decreases. However, in 1979, Mint Director Stella B. Hackel indicated that Mint would continue to attack them. "We really do not think a lot of half a dollar is used in trading, they're going somewhere, so somebody has to want it." By that time, more than 2.5 billion Kennedy half dollars had been hit, more than all of which had previously reached a combined half dollar. The New York Times numismatic columnist Ed Reiter suggested that hoarding continues even into the metal-base era, accounting for shortages in trade. 1979-80 saw the destruction of Kennedy's many 1964-69 silver half dollars, due to record high silver prices causing an extensive fusion of silver coins for their metal content.
End strikes for circulation
The coin continued to be hit for the rest of the twentieth century, and the mosaic numbers remained relatively stable both in Philadelphia and Denver mints until 1987, a year in which no half-dollar was beaten for distribution; The Treasury has collected supplies for two years, so further production is not necessary. Demand for a half dollar dropped, and casinos (where they are commonly used) are increasingly starting to produce fifty cents for use as coin replacements. With the low mosaic numbers remaining, starting in 2002, the half dollar Kennedy stopped being hit for general circulation. Rolls and bags of this year's pieces can be purchased from Mint, with a premium face value above.
In January 2014, a private company, on behalf of Mint, began surveying customers about possible options for a special half-dollar edition in commemoration of its 50th anniversary. In June, Mint announced plans to issue a special Kennedy 2014 million dollars to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the series: two dressed, from Philadelphia and Denver, four silver from Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point Mint, and one from 0, 9999 gold, from West Point. Both dress and silver versions bear normal dates; gold coins have double dates 1964-2014. All have more help than usual problems. Gold coins were released simultaneously with the American Numismatic Association convention in Rosemont, Illinois on 5 August 2014.
Collecting
With the exception of 1965 to 1967, the evidence is broken each year in the same metal composition as ordinary pieces of matter. The first half-dollar evidence of Kennedy was struck in early January 1964. The early strikes describe Kennedy with high-accented hair; estimated 100,000 coins hit with this feature. It was changed for the rest of the mintage of nearly four million coins of evidence. Due to the lack of coins, the Treasury announced that there was no evidence device to be beaten in 1965. In contrast, Special Mint Sets would be hit to meet collector demand. Coins for this set, printed in the San Francisco Assay Office, were beaten without a mint mark in early 1966 with a hard-pressed dies dated 1965. The same set as 1966 and 1967 was also beaten. Some of the 1966 sections of the Special Mint Set are known by the initial Gasparro " FG " which is missing from the reverse, apparently because of an overly forged die. The first year's production is sold in soft plastic packaging; 1966 and 1967 problems were sealed sonicly in hard plastic cases. In 1968, regular proof coins continued, although proof coin production was transferred to San Francisco, the "S" marker was added and the set was wrapped in hard plastic.
In 1973, Congress passed a silver-clad collector version of Bicentennial coins; in April 1975, the Mint started attacking them. The coins were published in proof and uncirculated quality. The copper-coated Bicentennial coins were placed in both sets of evidence from 1975 and 1976, while his silver counterparts were sold in three sets of coins. Since 1992, Mint has achieved Kennedy a half dollar in 90% silver for inclusion in a special set of silver. 1964 evidence was struck in Philadelphia, and since 1968, the proof coins have been beaten in San Francisco alone. In 1998, some silver evidence was broken to complete matte for inclusion in a set along with silver dollar warning Robert Kennedy. From 2005-2010, unranked pieces included in the mint set received matte finish, which distinguishes them from the pieces sold in bags and rolls.
See also
- United States dollar coins
- Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
- Kennedy's half-dollar mosaic figures
References
Bibliography
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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