How much silver in a pre 1964 half dollar?

Answer 1

1964 JFKs, Franklin, Walking Liberty, and Barber halves all weighed 12.5 gm when new and were made of an alloy of 90% silver / 10% copper. That means they contained 0.90 x 12.5 = 11.25 gm of pure silver.

Halves dated 1965-1969 are 40% silver, and circulation halves dated 1971 or later have no silver at all, just copper and nickel.

Answer 2

Kennedy half dollars minted from 1965-1970 are 40% silver and contain 0.1479 of a troy ounce of silver. Special collector editions of the Bicentennial coin (all of them have an "S" mintmark, but not all "S" mintmark bicentennial coins are silver) are also 40% silver. From 1992-present the US mint has struck special 90% silver proof sets including the Kennedy half dollar. Keep in mind that most proof sets are not silver and the half dollars in them contain no silver. But the 90% silver proof half dollar contains 0.3617 troy ounces of silver.

Answer 3

The actual amount of pure silver is .36169 of an ounce.

Answer 4

1964: 90% silver, 10% copper

1965-69: 40% silver

1971-present: 88% copper, 12% nickel (i.e. no silver)

Answer 5

The coins have an Actual Silver Weight (ASW) of .36169oz of pure silver.