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As for the JFK half dollar, again from Wikipedia: >>Though rarely used today, half dollar coins have a long history of heavy use alongside other denominations of coinage, but have faded out of general circulation for many reasons. It was produced in fairly large quantities until the year 2002, when the U.S. Mint ceased production of the coin for general circulation.

As a result of its decreasing usage, a large amount of pre-2002 half dollars remain in Federal Reserve vaults, prompting the change in production. Presently, collector half dollars can be ordered straight from the U.S. Mint,[2] and pre-2002 circulation half dollars may be ordered through most U.S. banks...Half dollar coins saw heavy use, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. For many years, they were commonly used in casinos.,,The 1964 Kennedy half dollars were removed from circulation by the public for sentimental reasons.[citation needed] Those issued through the end of the 1960s were hoarded as the only precious metal U.S. coins remaining in production, and as the price of silver continued to rise, pre-1964 halves disappeared from circulation as well. By the time that the coin's composition was changed to match that of the clad dimes and quarters in 1971, both businesses and the public had adapted to a country in which the half dollar did not generally circulate. The quarter took over the half's role as the highest-value component of change.