US Mint Issues Gold Edition Of Kennedy Half Dollar
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- For the 50th anniversary of the JFK half dollar, the U.S. Mint is selling a special Gold edition of the coin.
Five-hundred of them will be available at the Mint store in Philadelphia, beginning at noon on Tuesday.
The Kennedy half dollar was meant as a tribute from a grief-stricken nation and it never really was much of a monetary instrument. From the start, collectors snatched them up.
"That name, Kennedy, what it entails and what it does and what it motivates people to do," said Mint spokesman Tom Jurkowski.
Jurkowski says the Mint is expecting this gold anniversary edition to disappear fast too, even with a price tag of 12-hundred-forty dollars. The coins contain three-quarters of an ounce of gold and the rendering of Kennedy from the original coin.
"There's more of a fullness or a life-likeness about it that was lacking in some of the models that had occurred over the years," he said.
Jurkowski says the mint was originally going to allow customers to buy two of the coins but got so much interest, it's limiting purchases to one each.
There are reports of collectors paying people to buy coins on their behalf and several people are already offering coins they plan to purchase on Ebay for close to $1,800.
