when did half dollars stop being all silver
1965
title: United States dollar text: defined the dollar as of gold, equivalent to setting the price of 1 troy ounce of gold at $20.67. Silver coins continued to be issued for circulation until 1964, when all silver was removed from dimes and quarters, and the half dollar was reduced to 40% silver. Silver half dollars were last issued for circulation in 1970. Gold coins were confiscated by Executive Order 6102 issued in 1933 by Franklin Roosevelt. The gold standard was changed to , equivalent to setting the price of 1 troy ounce of gold at $35. This standard persisted until 1968. Between 1968 and 1975, title: Coinage Act of 1965 text: Coinage Act of 1965 The Coinage Act of 1965, , eliminated silver from the circulating United States dime (ten-cent piece) and quarter dollar coins. It also reduced the silver content of the half dollar from 90 percent to 40 percent; silver in the half dollar was subsequently eliminated by a 1970 law. There had been coin shortages beginning in 1959, and the United States Bureau of the Mint expanded production to try to meet demand. The early 1960s was a time of increased use of silver both in the coinage and in industry, putting pressure on the price of silver, title: Coinage Act of 1965 text: dollar were released in early 1966, a time when flowback to the Fed increased for all denominations being struck except the half dollar. That denomination failed to return to circulation, as they continued to be withdrawn. The Mint continued to strike 1964-dated silver pieces under the authority of the Coinage Act until 1966, when Secretary Fowler announced, "the coin shortage is over". In July 1966, the Treasury announced that coins struck after August 1, 1966, would bear the date of minting. Silver inventories at the Treasury continued to drop through 1966 as the government attempted to maintain the $1.2929 price title: History of the United States dollar text: of pre-1963 Federal Reserve notes for gold or silver officially ended. The Coinage Act of 1965 removed all silver from quarters and dimes, which were 90% silver prior to the act. However, there was a provision in the act allowing some coins to contain a 40% silver consistency, such as the Kennedy Half Dollar. Later, even this provision was removed, with the last circulating silver-content halves minted in 1969. All previously silver coins minted for general circulation are now clad. During 1982, the composition of the cent was changed from copper to zinc with a thin copper coating. The content title: Numismatic history of the United States text: Dollar was minted from 1921 to 1935. After 1935, no more silver dollars would be minted for circulation by the US Mint. 90% silver dimes, quarters and half dollars were replaced with copper-nickel coins after 1964. From 1965 to 1976, 40% silver coins were issued in certain denominations. Of these, only the 1965 to 1969 dated Kennedy Half Dollars were minted for general circulation. No precious metals were present in any coins issued after 1977 by the US Mint until the bullion and commemorative series that began in the 1980s and continue to the present day. As there were no