2002-D Kennedy Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 2,500,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,500,000
- 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 2002-D 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 2002-D Kennedy Half Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 2.5 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 2002-D 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 2002 Kennedy Half Dollar?
- On the obverse, below Kennedy's portrait and above the date. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 2002 are scarcer?
- The 2006-D at 2,000,000, the 2007-D at 2,400,000. So the 2002-D is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 2002-D Kennedy Half Dollar coins were made?
- 2,500,000.
What to check on your 2002-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 2002-P (3.1 million made).
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 2002-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof (2,319,766 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 3 million made, the 2002-D 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 2002-D
Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 2002. Only 2,500,000 were made, against 20 million the year before. That drop is why the 2002-D is the one people look for. In 2003 the figure was 2.5 million.
2002-P came to 3.1 million, so neither mint's 2002 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Denver's 58 Kennedy Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 2008-D with 1,700,000 made. The 2002-D is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 2000s it's 9th smallest of 20, between the 2007-D (2.4 million) and the 2003-P (2.5 million).
Collector-only production (2002 to 2025)
From 2002 the Mint stopped releasing halves into circulation and struck them only for collectors, sold in rolls, bags and sets. Mintages stayed between about 1.7 and 3.8 million per mint through 2012. In 2014 the Mint marked the 50th anniversary with a 1964-2014 dual-dated gold proof from West Point, 73,772 struck, along with silver versions from all four mints.
Silver proofs switched to .999 fine silver in 2019. Output for collectors rose again after 2020, with Philadelphia striking 30.2 million in 2023. Business strikes of these years are rarely found in change, so most surviving coins are uncirculated, often still in original Mint rolls or packaging. Silver proofs of the 2020s were made in smaller numbers than those of earlier decades.
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 | 2002 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,500,000 |
| 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 2002 Kennedy Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-P Kennedy Half Dollar | 3,100,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 2002-D Kennedy Half Dollar | 2,500,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 2002-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof | 2,319,766 | Proof | – |
| 2002-S Silver Kennedy Half Dollar Proof | 892,229 | Proof | 0.3617 oz |
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.