1969d U.S. half-dollar
Verfasst: Mo 28.12.15 07:42
A 1969d half-dollar from the United States of America. Struck at the Denver mint in silver-clad—the “fineness” of these coins is usually thumbnailed as 40%—with a diameter of 30.6mm and a weight of 11.50g. (This particular coin I pulled from circulation in ’69—a major sacrifice of purchasing power!)
The 1969d half-dollar is thus far (2015) the last American silver coin produced for circulation. (The other denominations had already lost their silver and the silver-clad Kennedy halves of 1970 were coined exclusively for sets; subsequent silver issues have also been collector-coins only.)
Only Denver struck half-dollars for circulation in 1969 (the obverse mintmark was another recent departure from American numismatic tradition), and these final American circulating silver coins mark the end of a silver coinage that began when the name “United States of America” was a literal fact.
By the time this 1969d half-dollar fell from a coining press, however, almost all of North and South America had gained independent statehood and the age of colonialism was long since dead.
So it’s no surprise that 1969 is a year almost never remembered for a great colonial opportunity foregone—not in silver, but in stainless steel—the plaque attached to the leg of the Apollo 11 lunar-lander: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” President Kennedy's 1961 pledge redeemed.
v.
The 1969d half-dollar is thus far (2015) the last American silver coin produced for circulation. (The other denominations had already lost their silver and the silver-clad Kennedy halves of 1970 were coined exclusively for sets; subsequent silver issues have also been collector-coins only.)
Only Denver struck half-dollars for circulation in 1969 (the obverse mintmark was another recent departure from American numismatic tradition), and these final American circulating silver coins mark the end of a silver coinage that began when the name “United States of America” was a literal fact.
By the time this 1969d half-dollar fell from a coining press, however, almost all of North and South America had gained independent statehood and the age of colonialism was long since dead.
So it’s no surprise that 1969 is a year almost never remembered for a great colonial opportunity foregone—not in silver, but in stainless steel—the plaque attached to the leg of the Apollo 11 lunar-lander: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” President Kennedy's 1961 pledge redeemed.
v.