
Ah, you've found some old pocket change and are wondering if it's more than just, well, change. A wise question! When it comes to US half dollars, the year 1964 is the magic cutoff.
If your half dollar was minted in 1964 or any year before that, you're holding a nice chunk of silver. The US Mint was packing these coins with a hefty 90% silver composition. This applies to the Barber, Walking Liberty, Franklin, and the 1964 Kennedy half dollars. They were all part of the silver party before the recipe changed.
To be precise, each one of these classic half dollars contains 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver. So, while it may say 50 cents on the tin, its actual value is tied to the shiny stuff inside. It's the reason coin collectors get a little giddy when they see a pre-1965 date, and why your grandpa's coin jar is probably heavier than you think.


