1971 Half Dollar Value – Mint, Errors And Worth

The United States Mint minted the 1971 Half Dollar. The coin features John F. Kennedy on the obverse side and the Presidential Coat of Arms on the reverse side. The coin is made of a copper-nickel alloy and not silver.

Key Takeaways

• A 1971 half dollar value is worth around 50 and 70 cents
• The value of the 1971 half dollar depends on the production year and mint material
• The 1971 half dollar with 40% silver is a rare half dollar
• The 1971 half dollar varieties are; the 1971 no mark half dollar, 1971 D half dollar, and 1971 S half dollar

1971 Half Dollar is not a particularly valuable coin due to the large number of them produced. They can usually be found in circulation and in many coin collections. The value of a 1971 Half Dollar coin can vary depending on the coin’s condition, rarity, and demand. Uncirculated or “mint condition” 1971 Half Dollars are worth around $2 to $4, while circulated examples are worth around $1 or less.

However, it’s worth noting that if a 1971 Half Dollar has a special error or a specific variety, it could be worth more.

Related: 1964 Nickel Value – Full Guide

How Much Is a 1971 Half Dollar Worth?

The standard worth of the 1971 half dollar is $1 to $2. However, half a dollar with a high-grade metal content can cost up to a few hundred dollars. For instance, the rare 1971 half dollar silver is worth thousands of dollars. The face value of the 1971 half dollar worth is 50c.

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Is a 1971 Half Dollar Coin Rare?

No, it’s not that rare. In 1971, minting factories made large numbers of half dollar coins that year. However, the silver 1971 half dollar coin can be rare, considering its accidental minting. The process used silver instead of copper and nickel.

A mandate passed in 1971 instructed the mint factories to produce the half-dollar coin without silver, but an accident happened. The silver planchets that had remained in the factories made their way into the minting process. Thus, the rare silver 1971 half dollar came into existence with around 40% silver.

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The rarest type of 1971 half dollar is the 1971-D Planchet error. It is also the most expensive 1971 half dollar.

Many people don’t consider the 1971 half-dollar coin rare since a standard half-dollar isn’t so rare, and you can’t sell it at a high price. For example, a Kennedy half dollar with MS-60 condition is around $1, and an MS-63 is about $2.

However, there are still those coins that are more valuable. For instance, MS-65 half dollar coins are about $40. In comparison, the MS-66 graded coins cost around $225.

The rare 1971 silver half-dollar has a high value. Note that the older your half coins get, the more expensive they will be.

Related: 1921 S Morgan Silver Dollar Value – A Complete Guide

How Can I Tell if My 1971 Half Dollar Is Silver?

You can identify a 1971 half dollar made of silver by;

• Using a magnet. If your magnet attracts the coin, then the coin material is silver

• Scrubbing the coin using a sharp object. If the scratch made by the sharp object leaves a silver line, then it’s a silver half dollar coin 

• Checking the edges. Silver coins have a silver line, whereas copper coins have a reddish-brown line

Most half dollar coins contained proper copper and nickel material, but several coins contained silver planchets due to the 1971 half-dollar mint error.

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1971 Kennedy Half-Dollar Error

Minting errors during production play a critical role in raising the value of a particular half dollar coin. According to historians, the 1971 half-dollar value error happened when some planchettes made of silver mistakenly remained in bins of the minting factories.

When emptying the bins, the planchettes went into the hopper, and the coins got struck, resulting in the existence of the 1971 silver half dollar coin.

Related: 1922 Silver Dollar Value – Complete Guide

1971 Half Dollar Value No Mint Mark

The mint mark typically shows where minting took place. Most of the half dollars made between 1971 and 1979 lack the mint mark ‘S.’ The 1971 half dollar no mint mark is more likely to have been made in Philadelphia.

Related: 1964 Quarter Value – Mints, Errors And Worth

1971 Half Dollar Mark on Neck

The mint mark on Kennedy’s neck got nothing to do with his assassination or conspiracies. The half-dollar mark on the neck is an intricate monogram of Gilroy Roberts, who was the chief maker of the United States Mint from 1948 up to 1964.

Roberts was a great sculptor who believed his work on the Kennedy half-dollar coin to be one of his greatest works. He designed the observation of the coin and joined it with the bust of Kennedy. The monogram ‘GR’ appears at the bottom of Kennedy’s neck.

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1971 Half Dollar Silver Content

In 1971, the half dollar consisted of 75% copper and 25% nickel, later referred to as ‘copper-nickel clad.’ This marked the first time a half dollar was minted out of a ‘copper-nickel clad.’ This is the same combination used for the 1965 dime.

The Kennedy half dollar encompasses 90 % silver and 10% copper in 1964. However, this changed in 1965, when the coin incorporated 40% silver and 60% copper, which gave it the name ‘silver clad.’ Later, in 1971, instructions were given to mint the coin without silver.

Gilroy and Frank were the two designers who created the half dollar coin. Gilroy Robert designed the Kennedy bust, and Frank Gasparro designed the heraldic eagle.

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The Kennedy half dollar was later altered after an amendment in the coinage Act of 1969. The mandate was to remove silver altogether from the Kennedy half dollar. Then-president Richard M. Nixon accepted the changes in minting material.

There have been a few changes throughout the production of the Kennedy half dollar. The weight also decreased slightly from 11.5 up to 11.3 grams.

Related: 1964 D Penny – Features, Errors And Value

1971 Kennedy Half Dollar 

The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 led to the introduction of a new half-dollar coin with his face to honor him. The government introduced the Kennedy half dollar in 1964, replacing the United States Mint, which had been used since 1948.

The Kennedy half dollar coin was made of 90% silver and 10% copper until this changed in 1971 when the government passed a mandate to make it without silver.

The standard value of the 1971 half dollar is about $1 to $2. The typical melt value of a Kennedy half dollar is around $4. A higher grade half dollar can cost up to a few hundred dollars. For instance, the rare 1971 half dollar costs thousands of dollars.

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What Is the 1972 Half-Dollar Value?

The value of the 1972 half-dollar is 50c in average condition but can value up to $15 for one in mint condition. Uncirculated coins are more expensive compared to circulated half dollar coins.

Related: 1974 Half Dollar – Value, Rarity And Condition

Conclusion 

The value of the 1971 half dollar depends on the mint material, grading condition, mint errors, and year of production. Find coins online, especially if you want to invest in buying or selling the 1971 half-dollars.