How much is a 1967 half dollar worth today?
If you have a 1967 Kennedy half dollar, I’ve got some good news for you… It’s worth more than face value!
That’s right! All 1967 half dollars are valuable and worth saving.
The reason?
They’re made from silver!
In this article, we will cover:
- How much silver is in a 1967 half dollar
- Mintmarks on 1967 Kennedy half dollars
- 1967 Kennedy half dollar errors
- Current value of 1967 Kennedy half dollars
How Much Silver Is In A 1967 Half Dollar?
The 1967 half dollar marked the 4th year that the late President John F. Kennedy had appeared on the coin.
Kennedy half dollars debuted in 1964 as a 90% silver coin.
The next year, in 1965, rising silver prices forced the U.S. government to debase the 90% silver dime and 90% silver quarter with copper-nickel clad compositions.
At the same time, the half dollar saw its silver content reduced to a 40% silver clad profile.
Have A 1967 Half Dollar With No Mint Mark?
No matter how many 1967 half dollars you stumble upon, you’ll never find one with a mintmark.
Why’s that?
In 1965, when the U.S. Mint stopped producing circulating 90% silver coinage, there was a major nationwide coin shortage.
Much of the coin shortage was caused by people hoarding silver coins, as their bullion content rose in value. But some mint officials attributed the shortage to coin collectors. Therefore, the theory went that if mintmarks were removed from circulating coins, it might help reduce collecting activity and thus bring an end to the coin shortage.
This, along with replacing the annual uncirculated sets and proof sets with a single product called the “Special Mint Set” (SMS), was the mint’s answer to resolving the coin shortage.
As it turned out, 1967 was the last year of this experiment (as we’ll call it) that the U.S. Mint endeavored upon.
In 1968, mintmarks returned — as did regular proof sets and mint sets.
Therefore, all 1967 half dollars have no mint mark. And there are two kinds of 1967 half dollar:
All 1967 Half Dollar Values
Okay, so all 1967 half dollars are worth more than their face value of 50 cents — but just how much more?
The value of 40% silver half dollars varies depending on current silver coin prices. You can find out exactly what the current price of silver is per ounce online.
For example, if silver is worth around $25 per ounce, then a 1967 silver half dollar has around $3.70 of silver in it.
Uncirculated and SMS 1967 half dollars carry premiums over their silver values.
On the basis of silver prices being around $25 per ounce…
- A typical uncirculated 1967 half dollar is worth around $5 to $7
- 1967 SMS half dollars are worth approximately $7 to $10
Something to keep in mind is that if silver prices increase, so, too, will the value of a 1967 half dollar!
Here are some interesting ways to collect Kennedy half dollars.
Rare 1967 Kennedy Half Dollar Errors
Many people know to look for errors and varieties, which are mint-made oddities that can be worth a lot of money.
There are certainly some cool 1967 half dollar errors worth looking for!
Check these out:
- 1967 SMS half dollar with quintupled die obverse (head’s side) — You may have heard of doubled dies or even tripled dies, but what about quintupled dies? Talk about a rare and valuable 1967 Kennedy half dollar error! This SMS specimen sold for a whopping $2,585 in a 2017 auction.
- 1967 doubled die Kennedy half dollar — This is a rare circulation-strike variety that is also popular among Kennedy half dollar enthusiasts. The combination of the coin’s popularity and the fact that only a handful are known make for a valuable error with this 1967 half dollar doubled die. One example sold for $2,115 in 2016.
- 1967 SMS half dollar struck on quarter planchet — This is an incredible error, particularly given that extra caution was supposed to have been given with the Special Mint Set strikes. Yet here we have this cool 1967 SMS error struck on a quarter! This piece sold for $840 in 2019.
The Most Valuable 1967 Half Dollar
When I said earlier that some 1967 half dollars are rare and valuable, I meant it! We’ve already seen how all 1967 silver half dollars are worth more than face value, and that some errors and varieties have brought hundreds (even thousands!) of dollars.
But it’s important to know that the better the condition of a 1967 half dollar, generally the more it’s worth.
This is certainly the case with one particular 1967 SMS half dollar that graded Mint State-69. This nearly perfect specimen sold for an astounding $31,200 in a 2019 auction.
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century.
I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek.
I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
