1964 Half Dollar Pattern - RB-2710, INCO

Coin Details

Description

Experimental clad half dollar pattern RB-2710, continuing the INCO composition test series for the Kennedy half dollar denomination. This test strike documents one of the alloy formulations evaluated as a potential silver replacement for the fifty-cent piece. The Kennedy half dollar held a unique position in the American monetary landscape of 1964 — it had been rushed into production just weeks after President Kennedy's assassination, and the public's emotional attachment to the coin made any proposed change to its composition politically sensitive. Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon and Mint Director Eva Adams were acutely aware that the American public would scrutinize any change to the Kennedy half dollar more closely than changes to other denominations. This political reality influenced the entire experimental program: the compositions tested for the half dollar needed to not only meet technical specifications but also maintain an appearance that the public would find acceptable as a worthy vehicle for Kennedy's memorial portrait. RB-2710 represents one candidate composition evaluated against these demanding aesthetic and functional criteria. The piece's survival to the present day provides tangible evidence of the extraordinary care taken in managing one of the most significant transitions in American monetary history.

Rarity Notes

R-7 to R-8. Surviving INCO Kennedy half dollar patterns are institutional rarities. Their historical significance as artifacts of the silver-to-clad transition enhances their numismatic importance.

Cross References

RB-2710 (Robinson-Breen catalog). INCO/Medallic Art Company experimental clad coinage program, 1964.