Silver · US 90%
US half dollars minted in 1964 or earlier are 90% silver and contain 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver each — five times the silver of a dime.
| Quantity | Melt value |
|---|---|
| 1 | — |
| 5 | — |
| 10 | — |
| 20 | — |
| 100 | — |
Live spot via gold-api.com. Melt value = spot × 0.36169 troy oz of fine metal.
Open the full calculator →A 90% silver half dollar weighs 12.5 grams and holds 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver. That covers the Barber (1892–1915), Walking Liberty (1916–1947), Franklin (1948–1963) and the 1964 Kennedy half.
Half dollars are the highest-silver-content common US silver coin short of the silver dollar, which makes a small pile of them a meaningful amount of metal. The figure above is the live melt value of one coin.
| Series | Barber, Walking Liberty, Franklin, 1964 Kennedy |
| Years | 1892–1964 (90% silver) |
| Composition | 90% silver · 10% copper |
| Gross weight | 12.5 g |
| Pure silver | 0.36169 troy oz |
| Face value | $0.50 |
Melt value is the value of the metal in the coin, ignoring any collector premium:
Where the fine-metal content is known, this simplifies to spot × 0.36169 oz. The live figure at the top of this page applies that formula to the current spot price.
Illustrative melt values (per coin) at example spot prices — shown for reference only; the live figure above uses the real market price:
| Example spot | Melt value |
|---|---|
| $25.00 | $9.04 |
| $35.00 | $12.66 |
| $50.00 | $18.08 |
A pre-1965 US half dollar contains 0.36169 troy ounces of pure silver. It weighs 12.5 g and is 90% silver by weight.
Yes. The 1964 Kennedy half is 90% silver. From 1965 through 1970 the half dollar was reduced to 40% silver, and from 1971 onward it contains no silver.
Barber (to 1915), Walking Liberty (1916–1947), Franklin (1948–1963) and the 1964 Kennedy are all 90% silver. Later Kennedy halves are not.
Franklin halves are worth their melt value (spot × 0.36169) unless they are uncirculated or a rare variety, which adds a collector premium.
This page values one coin. The Silver Stacking Spreadsheet keeps the whole record — every coin, what you paid, and your running profit or loss, auto-calculated from the spot price you enter.