One month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Congress authorized the creation of a hypixel skyblock coins series bearing his portrait.. By that time, Kennedy’s widow, Jacqueline Kennedy had stated a preference for a half dollar, not wanting to displace Washington’s picture on the quarter dollar, and Johnson, then serving as president, had endorsed the coin. Pressed for time, the decision was made to modify profiles borrowed from the presidential coins designed by Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro for the new coin.
Actual circulation began in January of 1964, but it was not met without difficulties. The coin failed to make it to the public. Instead, collectors and hoarders snapped it up as soon as it was available. First opened to the public in March of 1964, customers were limited to forty coins each. Despite this measure, intended to prevent any one individual appropriating the majority of the coins, seventy thousand coins were gone up in the first day, alone.
By November of that year almost one hundred sixty million coins had been distributed, but none were visible in circulation. Eventually, the number of coins stamped grew to almost four hundred thirty million, a number so astronomical that the silver used in the coins was actually eating up the stock in the country’s treasury. Since the original 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar was released, there have been multiple changes in the coin, changes in details like dates, artists’ initials, mint marks, or the introduction of the bicentennial markings on the reverse side. Despite these changes, the coin still remains popular. The supporting evidence lies in the fact that, although over one billion coins have been produced, proportionately, there are still very few in circulation, due to continued collecting.
A Most Tantalizing Golden Mystery
The Double Eagle gold coin, with an original face value of twenty dollars, has become surrounded by intrigue. One of the most famous examples was minted in 1933 just after President Roosevelt issued an executive order which was meant to end the bank crisis occurring at the time. This order, coupled with the Gold Reserve Act, necessitated that gold, along with other types of currency such as bullion and certificates would no longer be a legitimate form of currency and would have to be turned in to a Federal bank.
Some rare coins were an exception, but for the most part gold had to be swapped for a different form of currency. Of course, collectors or banks in Europe were outside of these rules, and managed to preserve some examples of these important gold coins for future generations.
The tantalizing mystery surrounding the 1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle arose because the coins were made after the executive order was passed. As a result the coins were melted down and prevented from going into circulation. However, two were given to the Numismatic Collection in the belief that those were the only two Double Eagle coins left. Many years later it became clear that some of the Double Eagle coins had in fact been illegally taken from the mint. This fact excited collectors as they realized there was a chance they could add a very rare item to their collection.
