DALLAS – A 1964 Kennedy half dollar sold for a world record $108,000, making it the most expensive coin of its type, at an auction of rare U.S. Coins held April 25 by Heritage Auctions. The rare example of the rather common piece of pocket change is one of about a dozen special issues struck in 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper for special coin sets issued by the U.S. Mint during the mid-1960s.

The sale smashed the $47,000 previous world record price, set by Heritage Auctions in 2016. Both the seller and the winning bidder wish to remain anonymous. Heritage Auctions presented the coin at an auction during the Central States Numismatic Society Convention just outside Chicago in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Special mint set coins are characterized by a better-than-average strike, the result of higher-tonnage coin presses than those used for coins intended for general circulation. The record-setting example sold by Heritage Auctions is valued for its rarity as well as its satiny surface condition.