Half Dollars are more popular with collectors than the public. Minted nearly continuouslyThe half-dollar is one of only two denominations minted nearly continuously by the US Mint since its inception, with the other as the one-cent.

Despite the regularity of its coinage, for much of its history the half-dollar has been unpopular with the American public, especially in modern times. In fact, today it is rare to ever encounter it in circulation. In many ways, this is attributable to the way our society and exchange mechanisms have evolved to favor certain coins over others. To this point, few businesses and banks stock half-dollar coins in their cash drawers and even fewer vending machines accept them as payment.

The half-dollar is the equivalent of one-half of one dollar or 50 cents. The first half-dollar was minted in 1794 with the obverse design of a Liberty figure with flowing hair. The half-dollar was not minted between 1798 and 1800, the longest period the coin was not in production. When minting was resumed in 1801, a Draped Bust obverse was adopted. This style was used until 1836, with several interesting mints exist from this period.

In 1839, the Seated Liberty design was introduced, a motif used on many other US coins during that period. The style was used until 1892, when the Barber quarter was adopted. In 1916, a new design was chosen, this time a walking liberty figure. It was designed by the same sculptor that created the Mercury dime and was produced in the same year. The walking liberty figure coin is widely considered one of the most beautiful of all US coins.

To replace the Liberty Walking coin, in 1948 the Mint began producing coins carrying a likeness of Benjamin Franklin. These coins were produced until 1963, when, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy half-dollar was introduced. Because of the public’s fascination with Kennedy’s life and the suddenness of his demise, the coins became immediately successful and collectors’ items almost overnight. While one would think the popularity of the Kennedy coin and the resurgence of interest in the half-dollar that accompanied it would have caused an increase in the denomination’s coinage, over time the opposite occurred. As more people collected the coins and took them out of circulation, the half-dollar gained a reputation of being superfluous. Coinage figures echo this sentiment; a production run of 277 million in 1963 fell to one of 2 million in 2009. In 1965, the silver content was reduced by over half and the majority metal was changed copper. In 1971, silver was removed completely and the coin became a copper-nickel clad.
How to Make Half Dollars More Popular:
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Types:

Flowing Hair
Draped Bust
Capped Bust
Liberty Seated
Barber
Walking Liberty
Franklin
Kennedy

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