Ah, an excellent question that sounds simple but is actually a bit of a trick! The amount of silver in a half dollar really depends on which half dollar you're talking about, as the U.S. Mint went through a couple of different phases. It's like asking how much horsepower a car has; you first need to know the year and model.
While the provided search results had some very promising titles, they unfortunately forgot to include the actual article content, leaving us to fend for ourselves. So, let's dive into the coin roll of history based on general knowledge.
For the classic, old-school silver half dollars minted in 1964 or earlier (like the Franklin, Walking Liberty, and Barber halves), you're looking at the good stuff. These coins are 90% silver and contain approximately 0.3617 troy ounces of silver. These are the heavyweights that collectors and stackers love to find.
Then, from 1965 to 1970, the U.S. government decided to get a bit more frugal. The Kennedy half dollars from this era are often called "silver-clad" and are only 40% silver. Each of these coins contains about 0.1479 troy ounces of silver. Still silver, mind you, but significantly less than their older siblings. After 1970, circulating half dollars contained no silver at all.
So, the short answer is: check the date! It's the difference between a coin that's mostly silver and one that's mostly just reminiscing about its glory days.
