Are you using half dollars for daily purchases?

Guys, I got two boxes of half dollar coins in search for silver coins. Now, I am left with plenty of clad half dollars. Since I only have one bank account, I can't really dump them at my bank and I am too lazy to roll them. I am also reluctant to use the coinstar counting machine since they charge me 9.8%. Instead, I am using them for my daily expenditure such as coffee, lunch, cigarettes, and all. Most places are ok and accepting the coins but a few places have never seen them and I got a weird question: what is it? I am just wondering whether other people have the same experience? Don't you think it's a good idea to use them as this can save the country some billions of dollars? Let's share opinion and be respectful please.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I used one at dollar mart for Christmas gifts and they counted it as a dollar so I made money :smile

 

that's kewl.

 

Avoid the places with teenagers at the register, they are always a pain claiming it is fake, at least here it is, but I have almost no problem with spending them. What I do, is I go to the BOA to get rolls (I have no account which they're fine with) then I dump at Chase, my bank with $0.41 in my savings account, and they are almost always nice and do it for me.

 

So, you basically stole from them knowingly.

To answer the OP question, yes, I spend them and have great fun doing it. I get strange looks. Teenagers ask their manager many times if they are real. A few times, they didn't know how to add them.

 

I like the idea of getting rolls from another bank. I will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the ideas and the trick with young registers.

 

I am gonna assume you didn't find any silver ?

When I get extra halves, I try to buy quarters with them.

 

I don't roll search halves but I do like to pick up halves at the bank every now and then. I get the typical reactions when I spend them. One reason I enjoy spending half dollars is it creates a better awareness of coins in general and half dollars in particular among the cashiers that receive them. I know most of the half dollars that I spend will end up in a drawer but that is one less half dollar stored in a vault somewhere.

 

Yes! I love spending halves, and $1 coins -- they will quite often elicit comments (mainly from the younger clerks, who are puzzled for a moment!).

Spend away ...

 

Nope, I don't use half dollar coins nor dollar coins.
The only place I know that used to use half dollars was the race track.
I rarely go anymore but the last time I went they had switched to quarters.

 

I don't use half dollars in commerce.
When I do roll searches for silver, I take the clad coins I got from one branch of my bank and deposit them in another.
Finding silver is getting really tough but it's still out there.
What I really like to do is use $2 bills, esp. on teenage or foreign cashiers who have never seen one before!

 

I'm going to try this: pay with a two bill, eisenhower, SAC or PRES and half dollar next week when I go to dunkin dounuts for $4.18 bill.

 

I try to buy all my gasoline with halves, less I have to run through the counter at TD and maybe they only have to change the bag 9 times instead of 10...ha ha ha. I bought milk for my daughter the other day and it was $3.69 and I gave the girl 8 x $0.50 pieces. She thought they were dollars and started giving them back to me but I corrected her that they were half dollars. I unloaded $28.50 in halves for gas and they were more than happy to take them.
HOTN

 

Doesn't your bank have a coinstar machine?

If they do, there is no fee for their customers.

My credit union has one in their foyer and I pay no fee for using it.

You could also use them for purchases, nothing wrong with that. It's fun to see the young checkout girls looks when you hand them a Kennedy half as they aren't familiar with them.

 

I actually did. In the coin roll search I posted 1x52 n 2x67s from the first box. On the recent second box, I got 1x54, 1x64, 1x67, n 2x68. I was left with 1992 half quarters ... (oops typo) ... dollars to spend.

 

The closest branch with the coinstar is about 15 miles from where I live.

Anyway, thank you guys. I don't feel alone anymore. I may be the only one who spend half dollars fir purchases in my neck of the wood, but now I know that there are others who are doing so otherwise. I will keep using them. It's good for me and for the country as well.

ps: mind you, I am not yet citizen of the USA. But I just love this country so much - the American Dream really does come true!

 

Took about ten minutes to find this thread. Finally I did it today. She looked at coins bill and only had to look for 7 seconds and she got it right! She did say WOW I got a $2 bill. and then said it again later. When I stop by next time and shes there I'll give another 2 $2 bills.

 

I used to take at least 50 two dollar bills with me as tip money when on a cruise. I thought it might help me stand out in the crowd. (Better service?) Talking with the purser on board, he informed me that some of the crew members would wait to the end of their sail and only deposit them in their hometown bank. Some of the port merchants have never seen them, and will accept any other US denomination, but, not the two dollar bill. Then add the fact that the crew members are usually not native to the country they're in, and it makes it almost impossible to use as immeadiate cash.. So I stopped using two's and doubled up on one dollar bills.

 

I have had similar experiences when I spend my extra halves. I have found spending for gasoline purchase is best for getting rid of a large number at a time. Have had not trouble doing that. Clerks usually want to count them though since they have been cheated with shorts rolls before. Teenage clerks have been my biggest problem but they end up taking them when I show them what they are. Sometimes they are a big hit with clerks who want to buy them from the drawer since they don't see them very often. Kind of fun, but it usually takes a little extra time to use them.

 

I use halves at the quicky mart for pop and chips. Sometimes at other places. I use $2 bills sometimes also. Rarely have an issue.