Depicts the head of John F. Kennedy facing left, with LIBERTY above and to the sides, and the date below. IN GOD WE TRUST in a straight line above the date.

Early strikes depicted Kennedy with heavily accented hair; an estimated 100,000 coins were struck with this feature.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination near the end of his third year in office. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, he represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to his presidency.

Despite his truncated presidency, Kennedy ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public. His personal life has also been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs.

Shortly after the coin's release, the Denver Mint began receiving complaints that the new coin depicted a hammer and sickle on the bottom of Kennedy's truncated bust. In response, Gilroy Roberts stated that the portion of the design in question was actually his monogram, a stylized "GR".

Depicts an adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States. Country name above, value below. In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto "E pluribus unum" (Latin for "Out of Many, One"). Over its head is a "glory" with 13 mullets (stars).

The Great Seal of the United States depicts a bald eagle, with a shield and its wings outstretched, holding a bundle of 13 arrows in its left talon (referring to the 13 original states) and an olive branch in its right talon, together symbolizing that the United States has a strong desire for peace, but will always be ready for war. The eagle has its head turned towards the olive branch, on its right side, to symbolize a preference for peace.

The Great Seal is a principal national symbol of the United States. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself, which is kept by the United States Secretary and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The obverse of the Great Seal depicts the national coat of arms of the United States.