Is there a new Kennedy half dollar in 2027?

Yes. Public Law 116-330 requires a new Kennedy portrait on the half dollar from 2027 through 2030, paired with a different Paralympic sport each year, starting with wheelchair basketball.

Who designed the original Kennedy half dollar?

Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts designed the 1964 portrait, and Frank Gasparro designed the Presidential Seal reverse.

Which Kennedy half dollars contain silver?

Coins dated 1964 are 90% silver, and coins dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver. Circulating halves from 1971 on contain no silver.

Why was there no Kennedy on the 2026 half dollar?

For the 250th anniversary the Mint issued the one-year Enduring Liberty half dollar, showing the Statue of Liberty. Kennedy returns in 2027 with a new portrait.

Are Kennedy half dollars still made for circulation?

Not in the usual sense. Since 2002 the Mint has made Kennedy halves only for collectors, sold above face value in rolls, bags and sets.

Which Kennedy portrait will be used in 2027?

The Mint published the final design on October 26, 2026. It matches JFK-04, the CFA's pick, showing Kennedy gazing skyward. The CCAC had recommended JFK-02, and the CFA had called the 1964 portrait superior to all new options.

The New Kennedy Half Dollar: From the 1964 Portrait to the 2027 Paralympic Series

Published 14 November 2026 · 8 min read · Youth Sports Quarters

A hand holds two coins styled after the 2027 wheelchair basketball half dollar candidates while adults play wheelchair basketball behind

The new Kennedy half dollar arrives in 2027 with a fresh portrait of John F. Kennedy on the front and a Paralympic sport on the back, starting with wheelchair basketball. It replaces the Gilroy Roberts portrait used since 1964 and runs through 2030. The U.S. Mint published the final design on October 26, 2026, with Kennedy gazing skyward.

The Kennedy half dollar from 1964 to 2026

The Kennedy half dollar was a fast response to grief. President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill authorizing it on December 30, 1963, barely five weeks after the assassination, and the coins reached the public on March 24, 1964. The National Park Service's history of the coin says the Treasury's first supply of 70,000 coins was gone by noon.

Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts made the profile portrait, and assistant engraver Frank Gasparro adapted the Presidential Seal for the reverse. Both reworked designs they had made in 1961 for Kennedy's presidential medal. Jacqueline Kennedy saw the trial portrait and felt it would be an improvement if the part in the hair were less pronounced, according to Roberts's own account quoted by the Park Service.

Silver content and the Bicentennial reverse

The metal changed twice in the first eight years, and that is what makes old halves interesting to search.

Dates	Composition	Reverse	Notes
1964	90% silver	Presidential Seal (Gasparro)	Widely saved; many melted in the 1970s
1965 to 1970	40% silver clad	Presidential Seal	Clad construction with reduced silver
1971 onward	Copper-nickel clad, no silver	Presidential Seal	Silver only in special collector versions
1776 to 1976 dual date	Copper-nickel clad	Independence Hall (Seth G. Huntington)	Struck in 1975 and 1976 for the Bicentennial
2026	Copper-nickel clad	Enduring Liberty design, no Kennedy	One-year Semiquincentennial design
2027 to 2030	Not stated by the Mint	A Paralympic sport each year	New portrait required by law; final design matches JFK-04

The 1964 coins were 90% silver. Starting with 1965-dated coins the silver dropped to 40%, and from 1971 it was eliminated from circulating halves. Many 1964 halves were melted when silver prices rose in the 1970s.

The Bicentennial coins came from Public Law 93-127, signed October 18, 1973, which called for new designs on the half dollar, quarter and dollar. The Treasury ran a national competition that drew more than 1,000 entries. PCGS CoinFacts credits Seth G. Huntington with the winning half dollar reverse, showing the rear of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The coins carry the dual date 1776 to 1976 instead of a single year, and there are no halves dated 1975.

The contest was a public event. Five judges picked the winners, each winning artist received $5,000, and Mint Director Mary Brooks unveiled the designs on NBC's Today show on March 7, 1974. The Kennedy portrait itself did not change for the Bicentennial; only the date and the reverse did. That makes the 2027 coin the first new Kennedy portrait since Roberts finished his in early 1964.

Why the half dollar rarely circulates

The Kennedy half has never been a coin most Americans use. The 1964 issue was saved as a keepsake from the start, and the Park Service notes that Americans kept collecting the coins as fast as they were minted. About 4.1 billion have been struck since 1964, yet few people see one in change. The decisive change came in 2002: as PCGS reported, since 2002 the Mint has not issued Kennedy half dollars for circulation and makes them only for collectors, selling them above face value in rolls, bags and sets.

That matters for the 2027 coin. Some new halves may end up in change, but the reliable way to get one has been to buy it from the Mint. The 2027 proof set includes one new Kennedy half dollar with an S mint mark.

The 2026 Semiquincentennial half dollar

For 2026 the Kennedy portrait stepped aside. Public Law 116-330 let the Treasury change the designs of circulating coins for the 250th anniversary year, and the Mint issued the Enduring Liberty half dollar. Its obverse shows the Statue of Liberty looking outward with the dates 1776 and 2026, and its reverse shows Liberty passing her torch to a new generation with the inscription "Knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." The Mint's May 2026 release priced a two-roll set of 40 coins at $60 and a 200-coin bag at $180, struck at Philadelphia and Denver.

The Enduring Liberty coin was made for circulation as well as for collectors, and the Mint encouraged people to look for the 2026 coins in their change. It was the first time since 1964 that the regular half dollar did not carry Kennedy. The same law says the half dollar returns to Kennedy in 2027, with a new portrait.

The new Kennedy half dollar portrait for 2027 to 2030

The law is specific. Starting January 1, 2027, the half dollar obverse "shall maintain a likeness of John Kennedy" but must be designed to distinguish it from the current portrait. The reverse must be emblematic of one Paralympic sport each year through 2030, chosen after consultation with U.S. Paralympics.

CCAC: JFK-02

The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee reviewed the Kennedy obverse candidates on November 18, 2025. Its letter to the Secretary recommended JFK-02, which scored 20 of 30 possible points from the 10 members who scored it, and the motion passed with nine in favor and one abstention. The committee said JFK-02 paired well with GW-01, its pick for the new Washington quarter obverse.

CFA: #4, and a preference for the original

The Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the same portfolio on January 22, 2026. Its letter of January 30 recommended obverse #4, but the Commission also wrote that Kennedy's portrait on the current coin, in use since 1964, was "superior to the proposed designs." The law does not allow the Treasury to keep the old portrait, so the Commission chose the best of the new options while saying plainly that it liked the original better.

The final portrait: JFK-04

Neither letter was binding. When the Mint published the final designs on October 26, 2026, the portrait matched candidate JFK-04, the CFA's pick, not the CCAC's JFK-02. The Mint describes Kennedy "gazing skyward with a warm and hopeful expression." The pairing the CCAC wanted came out half right: the quarters got its GW-01 Washington, but the half dollar got the CFA's Kennedy. CoinNews credits Beth Zaiken of the Artistic Infusion Program as designer and Craig A. Campbell as sculptor.

	1964 portrait	2027 portrait
Artist	Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts	Beth Zaiken (AIP), sculpted by Craig A. Campbell
Starting point	Roberts's 1961 presidential medal	New candidates reviewed by the CCAC and CFA
Who weighed in	Jacqueline Kennedy saw the trial portrait	Two public advisory panels; the CFA's pick was used
Reverse partner	Presidential Seal; Independence Hall in 1975 and 1976	A Paralympic sport each year
Years	1964 to 2025	2027 to 2030

So the coin moves from a portrait the Mint's chief engraver adapted in a matter of weeks to one drawn by a contract artist and chosen after months of public review.

Wheelchair basketball and the Paralympic reverses

Wheelchair basketball is the 2027 sport. The panels split on the reverse:

CCAC (February 24, 2026): design 50c-WCBB-01, 27 of 33 points, with a request that the ball be shown as a Molten ball, the official game ball. Matt Torres of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association joined as a subject expert.
CFA (February 19, 2026): design #7, praised for "superior legibility and dynamic image," with requests to remove the border and the words "Wheelchair Basketball," move the date to the lower left and complete the drawing of the wheels.

The final reverse is 50c-WCBB-01, the CCAC's pick, and it shows an adult Paralympic athlete. CoinNews credits Walter O'Neal III (AIP) as designer and Eric David Custer as sculptor. The Mint has also named the later sports: para climbing in 2028, para ice hockey in 2029 and para snowboarding in 2030, each "emblematic of a sport tailored to athletes with a range of disabilities." Our 2027 Kennedy half dollar page covers the finished 2027 coin in detail, and our full sports list shows all four years.

What collectors should watch for

Later designs. The JFK-04 portrait stays through 2030 while the reverse changes yearly. No 2028 to 2030 reverse design has been published.
Pairing with the quarter. The new Kennedy and the new Washington obverse on the Youth Sports Quarters were reviewed together, and the Mint announced them together.
Products. Expect the half in Mint sets and rolls, but no 2027 roll or bag dates have been announced.
Mint marks. Proof halves in the 2027 proof set carry an S. The 2026 circulating-quality halves came from Philadelphia and Denver, and the Mint has not yet said where 2027 halves will be struck.
Value. A 2027 half found in change will be worth 50 cents. Silver halves from 1964 and 1965 to 1970 are worth more because of their metal, not their age.

For the full approval path behind these coins, see how coins are designed. For the rest of next year's lineup, start with our 2027 coins overview and the Youth Sports Quarters FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a new Kennedy half dollar in 2027?: Yes. Public Law 116-330 requires a new Kennedy portrait on the half dollar from 2027 through 2030, paired with a different Paralympic sport each year, starting with wheelchair basketball.
Who designed the original Kennedy half dollar?: Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts designed the 1964 portrait, and Frank Gasparro designed the Presidential Seal reverse.
Which Kennedy half dollars contain silver?: Coins dated 1964 are 90% silver, and coins dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver. Circulating halves from 1971 on contain no silver.
Why was there no Kennedy on the 2026 half dollar?: For the 250th anniversary the Mint issued the one-year Enduring Liberty half dollar, showing the Statue of Liberty. Kennedy returns in 2027 with a new portrait.
Are Kennedy half dollars still made for circulation?: Not in the usual sense. Since 2002 the Mint has made Kennedy halves only for collectors, sold above face value in rolls, bags and sets.
Which Kennedy portrait will be used in 2027?: The Mint published the final design on October 26, 2026. It matches JFK-04, the CFA's pick, showing Kennedy gazing skyward. The CCAC had recommended JFK-02, and the CFA had called the 1964 portrait superior to all new options.

Sources

Published 14 November 2026. Facts checked against the sources listed above. The 2027 designs are final, published by the U.S. Mint on 26 October 2026; later years' designs are not chosen yet.