how much silver in a 1974 kennedy half dollar

[McBradley]

Ah, the great American coin hunt! You're wondering if that 1974 Kennedy half dollar rattling in your drawer is your ticket to a silver fortune. I hate to be the bearer of less-than-shiny news, but the amount of silver in a 1974 Kennedy half dollar is, drumroll please... zero. Zilch. Nada.

By 1971, the U.S. Mint had officially broken up with silver for its circulating coins, switching to a more economical copper-nickel clad composition. Your 1974 half dollar, whether it has a "D" mint mark for Denver or no mint mark for Philadelphia, falls squarely into this silver-free era. It’s a classic case of mistaken identity, as its older siblings were much more valuable. The 1964 Kennedy was a whopping 90% silver, and the 1965-1970 issues contained a respectable 40% silver. After that, the silver party was over.

The provided search results were more interested in the collector's value of a shiny proof coin than in its metallic makeup, so they weren't much help. But I can tell you that even the fancy 1974-S proof coin mentioned is also just a copper-nickel clad coin with a pretty, mirror-like finish. So, while your coin is a cool piece of history, its value is in its face value, not its metal content.