how much silver is in a kennedy half dollar 1965

[JoyFitz]

Ah, the 1965 Kennedy half dollar, a coin with a bit of an identity crisis! After its predecessor, the 1964 coin, was minted with a glorious 90% silver, the government decided to dial things back a bit for the following year.

In 1965, the Kennedy half dollar was minted on a 40% silver-clad planchet for the very first time. The official reason for this reduction was a rather optimistic attempt to discourage the public from hoarding them. As it turns out, even a coin with less silver was still more appealing than no silver at all, and the half dollars remained elusive in general circulation.

So, while it doesn't have the heavyweight silver content of its 1964 counterpart, your 1965 Kennedy half dollar is indeed 40% silver, marking a significant transition in U.S. coinage. It's a classic example of a "less is more" strategy that didn't quite pan out as planned.