Shortly following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, Congress expedited the approval of redesigning the half dollar to honor the nation's fallen president. The first Kennedy half dollar was released in early 1964, replacing the Franklin half dollar that debuted only 16 years earlier in 1948.
| Country | United States of America |
| Year | 0 |
| Serie | Kennedy Halves |
| Denomination | 50c |
| Mint | Philadelphia |
| coinage-type | Kennedy half dollar |
| desg | PR |
| designer | Gilroy Roberts & Frank Gasparro |
| diameter | 30.6 |
| edge | Reeded |
| fineness | 0.9 |
| material | 90% silver; 10% copper |
| mintage | 3,950,762 |
| obverse-description | Portrait of President John F. Kennedy surrounded by the word LIBERTY on the periphery. IN GOD WE TRUST appears left and right of the portrait with the date at the bottom. |
| reverse-description | The heraldic eagle holding arrows and branch of olive leaves with a full circle of stars around it. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * HALF DOLLAR surround the periphery. |
| variety | 90% Silver |
| variety-2 | 1964 |
| weight-grams | 12.5 |
| weight-ounces | 0.36169 |
| year-display | 1964 |