Following John F. Kennedy's November 22, 1963, assassination, the Franklin half dollar was quickly redesigned to honor the recently slain president. Because U.S. Law dictates that no coin design can be changed more than once every 25 years, Congress was forced to pass special legislation approving the design change, which they did on December 30, 1963. By the end of January, business strikes of the design were in production, following the earlier production start of proofs. The coins were first released on March 24, 1964.

The obverse of the coin was designed by Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts and features the side-on bust of President Kennedy. The reverse, designed by Frank Gasparro, who would succeed Roberts as Chief Engraver in 1965, bears the Presidential Seal--a Hearldic Eagle clutching arrows in its left (sinister) claw and olive branches, symbolizing peace, in its right claw. In 1975/1976, the design of the reverse was changed to that of Independence Hall in Philadelphia for the nation's bicentennial. The design has remained the same, less some minor modifications, since it reverted to the original design in 1977.

The Kennedy Half Dollar has been made in three different metallic compositions:

1964