Are 50 Cent Pieces Worth Anything? Which Halves Are Silver

Last updated: August 2026 · Free date, mint mark and silver checks at 8 Central New Jersey stores · No appointment needed

Which 50 cent pieces are worth more than 50 cents?

The date decides almost everything. If you found a roll of Kennedy halves, a bag of Franklin halves, or a few Walking Liberty half dollars in an old collection, do not spend any of them until you have checked every date against this chart.

Melt value is the floor under a silver coin, and the arithmetic is fixed. We write the live silver spot price as $S because that number moves by the minute and no honest page can pin it down in advance.

Worked example. A full roll of 20 Franklin half dollars carries 20 × 0.3617 = 7.234 troy ounces of pure silver, so the roll's melt floor is 7.234 × $S. That is the number that keeps a seller from being lowballed, and it is a floor rather than a promise: dealers leave room for refining and resale spread, and collectible coins are worth more than melt.

You can run your own count through our silver coin melt calculator, and the same 90% rule covers every US dime, quarter and half dollar dated 1964 or earlier. For the wider picture, read our silver coin prices guide.

Why 1964 is the date everyone checks first

Any regular US half dollar dated 1964 or earlier contains 90% silver. That includes Barber halves, Walking Liberty halves, Franklin halves and the one-year 1964 Kennedy half dollar, and each of them carries 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.

That is why a common circulated Franklin half is not just old pocket change. Its melt floor is 0.3617 × $S before anyone even looks at the date or the mint mark, and with silver strong, that floor alone is many times face value.

The 1964 Kennedy half deserves a special mention because it is the coin people find most often. It was struck in enormous numbers, so most examples are priced on silver, but it is the only 90% silver Kennedy, and uncirculated rolls and proof versions can carry a premium above melt.

Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 still matter

Kennedy half dollars dated 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver. They are worth less than the 1964 version, but each one still carries 0.1479 troy ounces of pure silver, which puts its melt floor at 0.1479 × $S, far above face value whenever silver is strong.

These are the sleeper coins, because they look almost identical to the later clad halves that are worth 50 cents. The fastest tell after the date is the edge: a clad half shows a solid band of copper along the rim, while a 40% silver half shows only a faint line. If you have a roll of half dollars from the late 1960s, set every one of them aside.

Are 1971 and newer half dollars worth anything?

Most Kennedy half dollars from 1971 onward are copper-nickel clad with no silver at all, and in everyday circulated condition they are worth 50 cents.

There are exceptions worth knowing. Silver proof Kennedy halves from collector sets, high-grade uncirculated coins, mint errors and certain varieties can be worth real money. Most circulating 1976 Bicentennial halves are clad and worth face value, but the Mint also sold 40% silver collector versions in special sets, so check the packaging and the edge before assuming.

The date is still worth checking on every coin, because people mix them. A jar can hold ten common 1972 halves and one 1964 half sitting right in the middle, and the counter finds that one every week.

When is a half dollar worth more than its silver?

Silver gives many half dollars a price floor, but collector value comes from a different place: date, mint mark, condition and demand. Here is what lifts a half dollar above melt, and why a retail chart number for a pristine coin is never the same as a cash offer for a worn one.

This is where broad online charts mislead people. A guide price for a high-grade certified coin says little about a worn raw example of the same date. The honest approach is the one used at our counter: check the date, the mint mark and the condition first, and only quote melt once nothing better has turned up. Our old coin price checker walks through the same checks at home.

Should I clean old half dollars?

No, never. Cleaning is the easiest way to turn a better coin into a problem coin. Silver tarnish, gray color and age are not defects, and collectors expect them.

Scrubbing a half dollar leaves hairlines a buyer sees immediately, and dips and polishes strip the original surface, which can permanently destroy the collector premium. If a coin might be older, scarce or in nice condition, leave it exactly as it is, put it in a flip or an envelope, and have it checked as-is.

How to sort a pile of 50 cent pieces

Date first, everything else second. Pull out every half dollar dated 1970 or earlier, then split the piles.

1. 1964 and earlier: the 90% silver pile, worth 0.3617 troy ounces of silver per coin.
2. 1965 to 1970: the 40% silver pile, worth 0.1479 troy ounces per coin.
3. 1971 and newer: usually the face-value pile, unless a coin is a proof, an error, or unusually nice.

After the dates, look for the older designs. Walking Liberty, Franklin and Barber halves deserve a closer look than ordinary modern Kennedys. Then check condition: heavy wear, scratches, holes, cleaning and rim damage pull collector value down, while sharp detail, original surfaces and better dates push a coin above melt. If the sorting feels like guesswork, stop guessing, bag the whole pile and let the counter do it. Our guide on how to sell old coins covers what happens from there.

What to do with your half dollars next

Do not spend them, do not clean them, and do not run them through a bank coin counter, because a bank credits face value no matter the date. Bring them to a counter that checks both values.

At Cash 4 Gold Trading Post, every half dollar is checked for date, mint mark and condition before melt is ever the number, so a key date or a proof in your pile is found rather than melted. Silver is verified with an XRF analyzer and weighed on a certified scale, free, on your side of the counter where you can watch. If you accept the offer, cash is paid the same visit, and if you decline, everything goes home with you untouched.

There are 8 stores across Central New Jersey: Aberdeen, Brick, East Brunswick, Farmingdale, Manalapan, Middlesex, Millstone and New Brunswick, and no appointment is needed at any of them. Find your closest counter on the locations page, see what to bring on the sell coins page, or start with our coin buyers near me walkthrough.

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