1980 1980-S 50C, DCAM PR69DCAM

History

Proof Kennedy half dollars were still reaching collectors sixteen years after the denomination's redesign, and the 1980-S was one of them. The series began under unusual legal circumstances: federal law barred changing a coin design more often than every 25 years, and the Franklin half dollar was only fifteen years old, so Congress had to pass enabling legislation, which it did in the Act of December 30, 1963. Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon had told Mint Director Eva Adams within days of the November 22, 1963 assassination that he wanted Kennedy's likeness on the half dollar, and the engraving department worked from existing medal models to meet the deadline. For 1980 the proof half dollar was sold only inside the annual six-coin proof set, the second year that set carried a Susan B. Anthony dollar.

Details

Gilroy Roberts designed the obverse and Frank Gasparro the reverse. The coin is a clad issue, with outer layers of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel bonded to a pure copper core, weighing 11.30 grams at 30.61 mm with 150 reeds on the edge. San Francisco struck 3,554,806 proof half dollars for the year, a figure that also represents proof set sales. That total sits in the middle of the decade's range, below the 4,063,083 of the 1981-S Type 1 and the 4,227,728 of the 1987-S, and above the 3,010,497 of the 1986-S.

Features

The obverse carries Roberts's Kennedy portrait, adapted from the design he prepared for the presidential inaugural medal. Gasparro's reverse is based on the Presidential Seal, with its heraldic eagle. No major variety, doubled die or mintmark-style variety is recognized for the date; PCGS splits the following year into separate 1981-S Type 1 and Type 2 entries, while the 1980-S is cataloged without any type suffix.

Notable facts

• DCAM is a third-party grading designation for the contrast between frosted devices and mirrored fields, not a separate production run, so no distinct DCAM mintage exists.
• The PCGS auction record for the issue is $920 for a PR70, set on February 1, 2003.
• The Mint raised the price of the 1980 proof set from $9.00 to $10.00 while keeping the same six coins and face value.
• In 1987 the Mint stopped striking Kennedy half dollars for circulation, the 1988 Annual Report of the Director of the Mint citing supplies sufficient for current needs, after which new halves reached the public only through collector sets.
• The PCGS CoinFacts number for this issue and designation is 96820.