Rich, handsome, elegant, and articulate, he aroused great admiration at home and abroad. His assassination in Dallas, Texas provoked outrage and widespread mourning. His term of office as president was too short, however, to permit safe judgments about his place in history.

Full Name: John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Birth Date & Place: May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts

Schooling: Graduated from Harvard University in 1940

Lived: White House - Washington, D.C.
Hyannis Park and Boston, Massachusetts

Death: Assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas

1961-1963: 35th president of the United States.

Kennedy was the youngest man elected president, and also the youngest to die.

He was a decorated naval officer in World War II.

"New Frontier" to the White House was a new approach in dealing with problems at home, abroad and in space.

The American military build-up in Vietnam began under Kennedy.

His portrait is on the half dollar.

Nickname: "JFK," "Jack"

What is the Value of a Half Dollar? A half dollar is worth 50 cents. This value can also be written as 50@ or $.50. It is equivalent to 50 pennies, 10 nickels, 5 dimes, or 2 quarters.

When was it First Issued? The half dollar was coined in 1794; the Kennedy half dollar was issued in 1964.

What is on the Back of the Coin? The Presidential Seal of Office. An eagle with expanded wings pointing downwards, bearing upon its breast, the U.S. Shield, an olive branch and three arrows in its talons.

Trivia: The average life span of a half dollar is 25 years. In 1976, a Bicentennial version of the Kennedy half dollar was issued with Independence Hall on the reverse side.

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

"...pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

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www.whitehouse.gov/history/

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