USA
Face
value 50 cents
Metal
silver-copper
Mintage about 855 mln. pieces
In
circulation since 1965 to 1970
JFK
John
Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963), often referred to as John
F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States.
He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. A member of the prominent
Kennedy political family, he is considered an icon of American liberalism.
During World War II, he served as a naval lieutenant in the Pacific theatre and
was cited for exceptional bravery for the rescue of his men. Kennedy is the
youngest person ever to have been elected president of the United States, at the
age of 43. (Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest ever to serve as President of
the United States, as he succeeded to the presidency at age 42, following
President McKinley's assassination.)
Major
events during his presidency included the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban
Missile Crisis, the failed prevention of the Israeli nuclear weapons program,
the failed prevention of the Chinese nuclear weapons program, the building of
the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War, and the
American Civil Rights Movement. In rankings of U.S. presidents, historians
usually grade Kennedy above average, but among the general public he is often
regarded as among the greatest presidents.
Kennedy is also the first and only Roman Catholic ever to become President, the
first president to serve who was born in the 20th century, the last to die while
still in office, the last Democrat from the North to be elected, and the last to
be elected while serving in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy died the youngest of any
U.S. president, at 46 years and 177 days, when he was assassinated on November
22, 1963. The assassination is often considered a defining moment in U.S.
history because of its traumatic impact on the entire nation, its impact on the
political history of the ensuing decades, and because of Kennedy's elevation as
an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations.