1979 Kennedy Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 68,312,000 made
- Mintage
- 68,312,000
- Metal
- Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel
- Weight
- 11.34 g
- Diameter
- 30.61 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar worth?
Worn examples are worth face value and can be spent. Keep it only if it looks uncirculated or shows a known variety.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar rare?
- No. With 68 million made, it's one of the most common Kennedy Half Dollars.
- Is the 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar silver?
- No. It's copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel. Halves dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver. Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar?
- On the obverse, below Kennedy's portrait and above the date. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1979 are scarcer?
- The 1982-P at 10,819,000, the 1978 at 14,350,000, the 1984-P at 26,029,000, plus 4 more. So the 1979 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar coins were made?
- 68,312,000.
What to check on your 1979
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1979-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof (3,677,175 made) is the one to compare with.
- A face that's fully copper colored could be a missing clad layer error. Patchy discoloration is usually damage.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the hair above Kennedy's ear and the center of the eagle on the reverse.
With 68 million made, the 1979 still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 1979
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1979: 68,312,000 coins, about 4.8 times the 1978 run. The next year it made 44 million (1980-P).
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1979-D (16 million).
Philadelphia struck the Kennedy Half Dollar in 58 issues between 1964 and 2025. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 2008-P (1,700,000). Within the 1970s it's 8th smallest of 17, between the 1973 (65 million) and the 1974-D (79 million).
Eagle reverse and dwindling demand (1977 to 2001)
The eagle reverse returned in 1977. Halves saw little use in commerce and mintages fell into the tens of millions, then lower. The 1982 Philadelphia issue includes a variety missing Gasparro's FG initials from the reverse. In 1987 no halves were made for circulation; the 2,890,758 coins from each mint went only into uncirculated sets.
Silver proofs in 90 percent silver returned in 1992. A 1998-S matte finish silver half, 64,141 struck, was sold in a set honoring Robert F. Kennedy and is one of the scarcest modern Kennedys. Circulation strikes of this period often show bag marks from handling in large bags. Well-preserved examples of the low mintage dates, such as 1987, are worth seeking. The 1999 Philadelphia run of 8.9 million was also small.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1979
The small Susan B. Anthony dollar replaced the Eisenhower dollar. It was too easily confused with the quarter and saw little use.
How to recognize it
Gilroy Roberts' portrait shows John F. Kennedy facing left with LIBERTY above, IN GOD WE TRUST below and the date at the bottom. The reverse, by Frank Gasparro, is based on the Presidential seal: an eagle holding arrows and an olive branch surrounded by a ring of 50 stars. The mint mark was on the reverse in 1964 and has been below Kennedy's neck since 1968.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Kennedy Half Dollar (1964–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 68,312,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 11.34 grams |
| Diameter | 30.61 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Gilroy Roberts (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse) |
Other 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 Kennedy Half Dollar | 68,312,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1979-D Kennedy Half Dollar | 15,815,422 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1979-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof | 3,677,175 | Proof | – |
Mintage: Kennedy half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.