So, you're scouring your couch cushions and coin jars, hoping to turn that handful of Kennedy half dollars into a down payment on a yacht? A noble pursuit! While most Kennedy halves are worth, well, half a dollar, some are definitely worth pulling aside. Don't quit your day job just yet, but let's look at what makes one of these coins a keeper.
The real money isn't in the coins that have seen the inside of a thousand vending machines. Instead, the truly valuable Kennedy half dollars are the fancy-pants versions made specifically for collectors. These are often special proof coins, which have a brilliant, mirror-like finish, and were struck at mints like San Francisco (look for the "S" mint mark) or West Point ("W").
According to the connoisseurs of coinage, the list of valuable halves is dominated by these special editions. For example, a 1998 S Silver Frosted Matte Finish proof is a showstopper that can be worth over $100. Not to be outdone, a 2019 S Enhanced Reverse Proof could also fetch between $100 and $120. Other dates to watch for include silver proofs from the mid-1990s, like the 1995 S, which can be valued around $40, and the 2014 W Silver Reverse Proof, which might get you a respectable $60 to $70.
Ultimately, you're looking for the divas of the half-dollar world. Check for dates from the 1990s onward with an "S" mint mark, and if the coin looks impossibly shiny and pristine, you might just have a winner. The common, circulated coins are probably best spent on a soda, but finding one of these special editions is the collector's equivalent of hitting a jackpot. Happy hunting!
