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

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, Roberts stated that the portion of the design in question was actually his monogram, a stylized "GR".

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

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the establishment of the Peace Corps, developments in the Space Race, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Civil Rights Movement, the "New Frontier" domestic program, abolition of the federal death penalty in the District of Columbia, and increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War all took place during his presidency.

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 by a sniper at the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon as a person of interest in the crime. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon and determined to have fired shots that hit the President from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby mortally wounded Oswald two days later in a jail corridor. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) agreed with the conclusion that Oswald fired the shots that killed the president, but also concluded that Kennedy was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy.

A bald eagle, with shield and its wings outstretched, holds 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, said to symbolize a preference for peace. In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto E pluribus unum ("Out of Many, One"). Over its head there appears a "glory" with 13 mullets (stars).

The reverse is an adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States and is reminiscent of the Heraldic Eagle style used on gold and silver coinage of the early 19th century.

The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the U.S. federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself (which is kept by the U.S. Secretary of State), and more generally for the design impressed upon it. The Great Seal was first used publicly in 1782.

Mint mark, if presented, located beneath where the eagle's claws grasp the olive branch.