Buy Silver Half Dollars Online
Each silver half dollar coin from the United States Mint contains .3575 troy ounces of pure silver content and a face value of 50 cents. Silver Half Dollars are sold in both $10 Face Rolls and $100 Face Bags. The $10 Face Rolls contain 7.15 troy ounces of pure silver, and the $100 Face Bags have 71.5 troy ounces of pure silver. Half dollars are one of the most popular options for investing in junk silver ever since the Coinage Act of 1965, which marked the debasement of silver from the US Dollar and the introduction of a full fiat money in the country.
Types of 90% US Silver Half Dollars
SD Bullion carries a complete inventory of pre-1965 US Silver Half Dollars, including:
Barber Half Dollars - 1892-1915
The interest of collectors is piqued by Barber half dollars since coins minted with the Barber design are over a century old. Barber halves are a great way to add to a junk silver portfolio but also add collectible coins to a silver stack as well. Although the price of these coins in the future cannot be exactly predicted, the supply of Barber half dollars is surely going to decline in the coming years, meaning the price of these will most likely be increasing in the future.
The United States Mint produced the Barber Half Dollars for one year less than their silver dime and silver quarter counterparts, which were released to circulation through 1916. The Barber Half Dollars were produced at the Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco mints. The New Orleans Mint was only open from 1838-1861 and 1879-1909, so no half dollar after the Barber will have an “O” mint mark from the New Orleans Mint.
The Barber takes its name after US Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber who created the design of these now famous US coins. The obverse design of these silver coins features Lady Liberty in a Phrygian cap with the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” above her and stars on either side with the mint year at the bottom of the coin.
Walking Liberty Half Dollars - 1916-1947
Walking Liberty half dollars were produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver Mints. The US Mint produced a total of 485 million Walking Liberty Half Dollars, with the most common year being 1943, when 77 million of these silver coins were struck.
The obverse design features Lady Liberty walking towards a rising sun with her robes billowing in the wind. She holds under her arm olive and oak branches— which signify peace and strength, respectively. The word Liberty is engraved across the top, on the right side are the words In God We Trust, and inscribed at the bottom is the year the coin was produced. This design is the inspiration for the now iconic US Silver Eagle Coin design.
Franklin Half Dollars - 1948-1963
The Franklin half dollar coins were only produced for 16 years but had a similar total mintage to the Walking Liberty Halves. There was a total of 465 million Franklin Halves made. The most common year for Franklin Halves is 1963, with 89 million of them minted that year. These silver halves were produced at the mints of Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. The obverse of these silver half dollars will feature the profile of Benjamin Franklin with the date the coin was minted to his right.
90% Kennedy Half Dollars - 1964
The total mintage of these half dollars is surprisingly high at roughly 435 million, even though they were just struck using 90% silver content for one year in 1964. The Kennedy Half Dollar program was started two months after President Kennedy's assassination as a tribute to our 35th President. The program continued being minted using 40% silver from 1965 through 1970, and the coins continued to be minted until this day with a copper-nickel clad.
The obverse of these silver coins will feature a left-facing profile of President Kennedy with the words “LIBERTY” at the top with “1964” minted at the bottom. The US motto of “IN GOD WE TRUST” is minted above the year as well.
The reverse design depicts a heraldic eagle grasping an olive branch and arrows with its talons, representing the duality of America's desire for peace but readiness for war. The inscriptions on the reverse include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "HALF DOLLAR."
Older, rarer, and incredibly numismatic half dollar coins include the Flowing Hair, the Draped Bust, the Capped Bust and the Seated Liberty Half Dollars.
Quality of Half Dollars
Every silver half dollar from the list above contains 90% of actual silver content. The majority of the 90% silver half dollars are going to be in circulated condition, so half dollars that are of higher quality are going to be sold for a higher premium. At SD Bullion, we sell silver halves in both circulated and higher quality conditions as well.
The Barber Half Dollars are sold in G and VG condition. The G condition stands for “Good,” meaning that the coins will still be in better condition than circulated, but they will still have wear and tear on them. The VG stands for “Very Good,” meaning those Barber Half Dollars will be in clearly better condition than circulated but will have slight wear and tear on them. Coins over 100 years old in this condition are not nearly as common as they once were, and the supply is expected to continue to drop.
We sell the Walking Liberty Half Dollars in both circulated and XF/AU conditions. XF/AU stands for extra fine/about uncirculated, so these coins aren’t quite in uncirculated condition. Still, they will be higher quality coins compared to the traditional Walking Liberty Half Dollars.
We sell Franklin Half Dollars in circulated and AU/UNC conditions. AU/UNC stands for about uncirculated/uncirculated so that these coins would be in a condition very close to, if not an uncirculated condition. They will be clearly in better condition than the circulated version.
When you purchase 90% Silver Half Dollars at SD Bullion, be confident that you are getting the lowest price online. And when you lock in an order today, you’ll be getting the silver spot price as it is at the time of your order!
Buy 90% Silver Half Dollars from SD Bullion and enjoy an immediate, fully insured shipment. Shop online 24/7 or contact us at 1(800)294-8732 or sales@sdbullion.com.