The US half greenback, a coin denomination valued at fifty cents, underwent a big compositional change in 1965. Previous to that 12 months, these cash had been struck from 90% silver. Cash produced in 1968, nevertheless, replicate a shift on this composition. These explicit cash are composed of an outer layer of 80% silver and 20% copper bonded to an interior core of 20.9% silver and 79.1% copper, leading to an general silver content material of 40%. This transformation was carried out to scale back the price of manufacturing amidst rising silver costs.
This alteration in metallic content material carries historic and financial significance. The shift displays the financial pressures of the mid-Sixties and the rising worth of treasured metals. Cash from this era are sometimes wanted by collectors, not just for their numismatic worth but additionally as tangible reminders of this particular interval in US financial historical past. The intrinsic metallic worth, though lower than pre-1965 examples, contributes to their enchantment, particularly when silver costs are elevated.