Silver Coin Notebook

Silver calculator / Coin guide

Kennedy half dollars dated 1964, Philadelphia and Denver

1964 Kennedy Half Value: 90% Silver Melt

The 1964 Kennedy half uses the 90% silver specification. Do not combine it with the lower-silver 1965-1970 halves under one weight. The date and issue identification determine which calculator input to use.

Silver spot

$51.75/ozt

Metal prices by MetalCharts

USD per troy ounce. As of . Fetched .

Estimated melt per coin

$18.72

Metal prices by MetalCharts

Uses the dated spot shown here and nominal silver content; no offer or collectible premium.

Melt value is an estimate of the silver content only, at the dated spot price shown. It is not an offer to buy or sell, and not investment advice. Dealer offers are often below melt, and collectible coins can be worth more.

Silver content and the formula

Nominal total weight: 12.50 g. Composition: 90% silver. Silver content: 11.25 g, approximately 0.36170 troy ounces per coin.

Standard weight and fineness set by the Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15 (linked below). Ounce values are rounded for display; calculations use silver grams divided by 31.1034768.

Melt value (USD) = (11.25 g ÷ 31.1034768 g/ozt) × silver spot (USD/ozt).

Source: Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15, 17 Stat. 426-427. Nominal original weights are used; wear and loss of metal can lower actual silver content. A troy ounce is different from the ordinary household ounce.

What can make one worth more?

Proof production is included in the Philadelphia figure linked below. A proof coin or an unusually preserved example should be evaluated individually instead of using a manufacturing total to infer a market premium.

Date, mint mark and condition

The report's totals cover 1964-dated manufacturing through April 1966. They include categories such as proofs and must not be silently presented as a circulation-strike catalog mintage.

Keep the date, mint and any suspected variety together in your notes. A mint mark identifies a production location; it is not a grade. Preserve the surfaces rather than cleaning a coin to make it look brighter. If an unusual coin warrants professional assessment, have it graded by PCGS or NGC; neither service sponsors this guide.

Suspected errors need authentication

Doubled-looking letters, a weak design or unusual color can have more than one explanation. This guide does not identify an error variety from a description or assign a premium. A damaged or altered coin is not automatically a mint error. Obtain an independent assessment before attaching a variety name or collectible value.

Mint-report production records

These are the manufacturing counts and categories stated in the linked Mint publications, not a survival census or a grade-price table. They can include proofs, assay pieces and production outside the year on the coin. They should not be substituted silently for circulation-strike catalog mintages.

Selected primary-source manufacturing counts
Issue and report categoryPiecesSource
1964-dated half dollars, Philadelphia (includes proof coins)277,254,766Director of the Mint, Domestic and Foreign Coins 1792-1965, table C50, printed p. 71
1964-dated half dollars, Denver156,205,446Director of the Mint, Domestic and Foreign Coins 1792-1965, table C50, printed p. 71

Sources and corrections

Last checked: . Weight/composition: Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15, 17 Stat. 426-427. Production sources are linked beside every count above. No PCGS, NGC or Red Book price-guide tables or descriptions are reproduced.

If a date, composition or count is wrong, send a correction with the source and page number. We review corrections and log changes in the source record.

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