The 1971 Half Dollar holds a unique place in American coinage history as the first year the Kennedy ... and 0.9999 gold purity, making it one of the purest gold bullion coins in the world.

The Kennedy half dollar was first minted in 1964 in the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — the coin’s ...

Kennedy, who was gunned down in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. One of the smaller effects of JFK’s assassination is that the government put his image on half dollar coins beginning in 1964.