Kennedy 2023 Half Dollar 200-Coin Bag

On November 22nd, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. The sudden death of the young President sent shockwaves across the Nation and the world. Millions of American families watched his funeral on television, just three days later on November 25th. Shortly after Kennedy’s funeral, the United States Mint worked with the late President’s family to choose a coin to honor Kennedy, mirroring how the penny was used to honor Abraham Lincoln after his assassination. John F. Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, suggested the use of the half dollar so that her husband’s image would not replace another President. The United States Mint worked swiftly to honor Kennedy with the redesigned half dollar which went into circulation in March of 1964, only four months after President Kennedy’s death. The morning of the new half dollar’s release, banks across America saw long lines for the new coins and had to turn people away after the first 70,000 Kennedy half dollars were claimed before the day was over.