1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 2,150,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,150,000
- Metal
- 40% silver clad
- Weight
- 11.5 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 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.1479 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
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.
The 1970-D was issued only in mint sets, not for circulation and is the key to the Kennedy series.
Quick answers
- Is the 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar rare?
- Not in absolute terms: 2.1 million were made. It is one of the smaller runs in the series, though, so uncirculated examples are worth a little more than most dates.
- Is the 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 40% silver clad (80% silver outer layers) and holds 0.1479 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1970 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 1970 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Denver issue had a smaller mintage than the 1970-D.
- How many 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar coins were made?
- 2,150,000.
What to check on your 1970-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1970-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof (2,632,810 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.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1970-D
Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 1970. Only 2,150,000 were made, against 130 million the year before. That drop is why the 1970-D is the one people look for. The next year it made 302 million (1971-D).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1970 you find is from Denver.
Denver struck the Kennedy Half Dollar in 58 issues between 1964 and 2025. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 2008-D (1,700,000). No Kennedy Half Dollar of the 1970s had a smaller run.
1970 is the last year the Kennedy Half Dollar was made in 40% silver clad (80% silver outer layers). Check the edge or weigh it if you find one from the year after.
Forty percent silver years (1965 to 1970)
From 1965 to 1970 the half dollar kept some silver: outer layers of 80 percent silver bonded to a core of about 21 percent silver, for 40 percent overall. As with other denominations, no mint marks were used from 1965 to 1967 and Special Mint Sets replaced proofs. The Mint struck nearly 300 million halves dated 1967.
From 1968 the mint mark moved to the obverse above the date and San Francisco struck the proofs. Philadelphia made no business strike halves from 1968 to 1970. Halves were mostly hoarded by now. In 1970 Denver struck only 2,150,000, all sold in uncirculated sets with none released for circulation. The 1970-D is the key business strike of the series. Coins of these years have a silvery edge without a copper stripe.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1970
The last 40% silver Kennedy half dollars were struck. The 1970-D half was issued only in mint sets.
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 | 1970 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,150,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 40% silver clad (80% silver outer layers) |
| Weight | 11.5 grams |
| Diameter | 30.61 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1479 troy oz (4.600 g) |
| Designer | Gilroy Roberts (obverse); Frank Gasparro (reverse) |
Other 1970 Kennedy Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-D Kennedy Half Dollar | 2,150,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1479 oz |
| 1970-S Kennedy Half Dollar Proof | 2,632,810 | Proof | 0.1479 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.