what president is on the silver half dollar

[DelGavin]

The president depicted on the United States half dollar is John F. Kennedy. This coin, known as the Kennedy half dollar, was authorized by Congress and first issued by the United States Mint in 1964 as a memorial to the 35th president following his assassination in November 1963.

The composition of the Kennedy half dollar directly relates to the "silver" aspect of the question. The initial coins struck in 1964 were composed of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. Due to the rising price of silver and public hoarding of these commemorative coins, the composition was altered. From 1965 through 1970, the half dollar was produced with a silver-clad composition, consisting of an outer layer of 80 percent silver and 20 percent copper bonded to an inner core of 20.9 percent silver and 79.1 percent copper, for an overall content of 40 percent silver. After 1970, silver was removed entirely from the composition of circulating half dollars. Therefore, while all Kennedy half dollars feature the same president, only those minted between 1964 and 1970 contain silver.