A new all-time record for half dollar production was set at the Denver Mint in 1963, one that would be blasted away the following year but with an entirely new coin type. The 1963-D halves were massively hoarded, both for their status as last-year-of-issue and for the general speculative frenzy around uncirculated rolls and bags of recent coins that so dominated the coin hobby at the time. The sheer number of coins struck has made gems readily available at the MS-65 level, while those graded higher are a bit more common for other Franklins of the 1960s. Most 1963-D halves are found well struck, so certified FBL examples may be obtained by the more determined collectors. This generous mintage resulted in a single DDR variety, plus several DDOs, all of them minor. There are a handful of RPM varieties, too, but these are minor and challenging to distinguish from one another.