Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 1/9/2007

Question
My grand mother gave me tis Kennedy half dollar coin. It's gold colored. With the bust of Kennedy on the front and the seal of the United States of America on the back. On the front of the coin it says " Kennedy coin memorial" Sudbury Canada"  minted in 1964. have you ever seen this type of coin and if so can you give me some information about it. Thank you very much, Johnny

Answer
Hello, John, this is an interesting piece, but it is not a Kennedy half dollar.  What it is is a one piece medal, made I believe in 1964 in Canada to honor president Kennedy.  It is all one piece, which is why I call it a medal.  You see this for sale on eBay on occasion and it sells for around $10 give or take a few dollars.  It comes in this golden color and also in a silver color.

One way you can tell that this is not a true Kennedy half dollar is to compare the position of the stars on the reverse with the position of the stars on a real U.S. Kennedy half dollar.  They won't match up.

You often see this piece selling on eBay, described as an encased Kennedy half dollar, which many dealers even think it is.  But it isn't.  Hope this helped, Jim Lawniczak