I think halves should be a part of the U.S. Mint's Direct Ship Program, don't you?

I think this would be a good idea. The Mint should start offering the half dollar coin rolls in a box of $200 or so, and the half should be redesigned to spark even more interest in te 50 cent denomination. Possibly with my "Famous Dogs" idea I have in the thread about redesigning the dime and the half.

NAMA has told me that it would add millions in cost to add both a half dollar tube and a $2 coin tube if the U.S. ever replaces the $2 bill with a coin. So, if it only costs millions to upgrade for halves, why won't NAMA just go for it? I could see if it were tens, or hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade machines for taking halves, but just "millions" compared to the hundreds of millions to billions that the vending industry makes every year? Upgrading machines to accept and dispense halves (and $2 bills) would be like a drop in the bucket for the vending industry, even if they only make a few hundred million a year.

I have tried both $2 bills and halves in self checkouts, and found that most self checkouts accept $2s, and THAT is a good "first step" however, the machine needs to be programmed to dispense $2s as well. As for halves, no self checkout I have ever seen has accepted a half BUT the coin slots on those self checkouts were big enough to comfortly fit halves (they just drop through into the rejected coin tray) so, obviously self checkouts were indeed, meant to accept halves. They just need a half dollar tube installed and have the machine programmed to accept and dispense halves, and then halves WILL once again circulate.

Also, with inflation, and people rejecting the $1 coin, I think we should just have a redesigned polymer $1 bill, and get a polymer $2 bill circulating, and make the half the new workhorse for the U.S. coin system.

 

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I'm with you Drago. I miss the half dollar coin. So prolific in my younger days it's virtually non-existent today. I'd welcome a resurgence of this issue.....

 

I'm on the other side of the discussion.
As a coin made for circulation, half dollars should be discontinued.
Like the dollar coins, they don't circulate.
Even casinos don't use then, at least the casinos I'm familiar with.
Only place I know that uses them is my local racetracks (horses).

Relegate the half dollar to commemorative use only.
It's larger than the quarter so there's more space for the artwork.

 

I agree with Kanga on this one. I love halves and would love to see a redesign of the half dollar, but not for circulation. It would be a nice driver for selling more Mint and Proof Sets and mint roll sets, by discontinuing the Kennedy design and only offering the new coin for collectors and sold through the Mint at a premium. Of course they'd have a legal denomination but they would not be for spending, just as one doesn't spend an ASE for a $1 coin. The half should also be used with a precious metal composition in place of those clad commemoratives that sometimes accompany the other silver dollar commem sets. Half dollar commems are perfect in size for artwork like kanga suggested.

 

I think the half dollar would be the perfect coin at the perfect size to use for commemoratives. The size is big enough for detail and small enough for an affordable silver content commemorative.

 

I suggested this to the Mint last summer. Their reply was that there are so many halves in the bank vaults that are still unused that they haven't needed to mint any for circulation for ten years. The supply of halves is still quite large and readily available for banks to purchase to give to customers and businesses.

The Direct Ship program only uses brand new $1 coins. There are just too many unused halves to justify minting new ones. I suppose they could buy back used ones and roll them up for you, but you can just have your bank keep them in stock, instead.

It makes sense, and I am a frequent half-dollar user.

 

Welcome to your first post... even though you've been here almost a year!

More on point, the Kennedy half dollar killed the 50c as a circulation piece. If you think about it, it serves no purpose other than novelty (similar to the $2 note). Why would I keep bulky coins (50c and full $1 size) in my pockets when I can just have notes?

Personally, I'd do the following to the US currency as a redesign/overhaul:

Coins: 5c, 25c, $1
Notes: $10, $20, $50, $100 (all vertical orientation)
Coin/Note: $2/$5 (either a $2 coin or $5 note would be used in circulation)

Pennies, dimes, $1 notes, $2 notes, and $5 notes would continue to circulate but no longer be printed. After an educational period of two years, these forms of currency would enter a period of decirculation.

For a period of 15 months, the currency being decirculated would be accepted in commerce.

After the 15-month period, pennies and dimes would cease to be accepted as tender in transactions. Notes would continue to be accepted, but would no longer be given by banks or stores as change. Theoretically, this would work in a similar fashion to how war nickels and FRNs should be treated in commerce. Stores and banks should accept them (though sometimes tellers reject them since the counting machines call them fake), but not give them as change.

Nickels would be aluminum based with a nickel alloy added for hardening. All other coins would be copper-nickel alloy.

Notes would be multi-coloured in a vertical orientation. Additionally, notes would be shortened and widened to increase security through multiple screening and UV layering of inks.

The point of this is that if the US Mint is going to make an attempt at restarting the 50c piece, they're better off restarting the entire currency system. The 50c piece was rarely circulated in the 40s/50s/early-60s. With Kennedy appearing on the piece, circulation basically stopped. The collectibility of the coins will always be suppressed due to vast supply levels, since everyone and their grandmother collected the coins of Kennedy.

 

Without reading all the responses so far, Interesting question!

I don;t think it would ever happen since the ONLY reason Half Dollars are minted is to satisfy collector needs and to PAD the US Mints General Fund!

A better question would be, why do they even mint the danged things! I thought they were governed by Federal Reserve Bank Orders which is the reason so many 2009 dimes and nickels were hard to find? They even stopped production of the coins since the FRB wasn't ordering any.

Oh well, since the US Mint gets much more than face value seigniorage for each half dollar they produce, I seriously doubt they want to give them out at face value. Too big of a loss for them.

Besides, the Direct Ship Dollar program is only a half assed attempt at getting dollar coins out to local merchants who refuse to integrate them into their change model. Not only that but literally ANY merchant can get them from literally ANY bank ANY time they want. Why would they pay postage to get $250 worth?

Make no mistake, the Direct Ship Program simply panders to collectors since I can't think of one valid reason that a local merchant would want to order these from the US Mint. Only collectors do. The exact same would be true of the half dollars which are readily availble via order for all who want them at any US Bank.

 

I think the Direct Ship program is aimed more at consumers than merchants: Consumers who want them, but are too timid to tell their banks to keep them in stock. I just made an order today and they do not charge for shipping.

Yes, I've been reading Cointalk for a while, but I had to pop in about this, since I wrote to the Mint about it a while back. I was a lot less knowledgeable then.

 

I like the idea of using the half dollar as a commemorative. I would also support making the new ATB quarters available via direct ship instead of selling them at such a huge mark-up with all the fancy packaging. TC

 

I'll agree that there was a time when half dollars basically languished in bank vaults, but that was back in the early 1800's. Too many silver dollars were being lost to international trade so the government stopped making them. The fifty cent piece more or less became the backbone of our monetary system. Why this coin didn't fly out the window with international trade I couldn't tell you but given the large number of worn Busties that we see today it appears that they didn't do all that much languishing. Fast forward to the fifties and sixties when I was growing up. I used to see half dollars quite frequently. Everybody knew what a half dollar was. I used to get 'em in the change all the time. Cash drawers even had a slot for them. Pull a fifty cent piece out today and you get some weird looks. Lots o' folks don't know what they are. When President Kennedy was assassinated back in November of '63 the country was devastated. I remember that time quite vividly. There was no joy. You could cut the collective sadness with a knife. When Congress authorized a coin to be minted in honor of the late president people were ecstatic. Everybody wanted one and for a time you just couldn't seem to get one. Even though the run of '64 Kennedys was more than the combined mintage of all the Franklins, you just couldn't seem to get your hands on any. People hoarded 'em. Man that was frustrating for a young collector. With the end of 90% silver coinage people hoarded half dollars all the more. Coins that I saw commonly were now uncommon. Every once in awhle you'd come across one but not so frequently as in years past. Really a shame. I like the half dollar. I don't mind carrying a few around in my pocket. Everyone complains about the weight or bulkiness but I enjoy the feeling of "heft" in my pocket. It's really more convenient for me to stick my hand in a pocket and pull out a handfull of coin, to pay for a small purchase, than to fumble for my wallet. I enjoy holding up a check out line as I count out a few dollar, quarter and cent coins...and I enjoy the "sometimes" questions I'll get about a certain pocket piece I carry. Bury the dollar bill. Bring on the presidential dollar coin and bring back the beloved fifty cent piece.........

 

Well, seriously, in all reality, how bad could it be for vending machine companies to spend a few million dollars to upgrade their machines to accept and dispense halves as needed? CoinStar coin counting and depositing machines did if for both, halves and dollars. I know it was just for them to make more money, but still.

ALL vending and self checkout machines made after today's date (but it should have been sooner) SHOULD be tooled to accept and dispense halves and $2 bills as needed. A simple change in machine designs that are not even made yet, can not possibly cost that much, to them antyway. People would probably complain or hoard for a few months, then get over it and/or spend some of their hoarded stash, knowing that $2 bills and halves are there in circulation to stay.

And no, I do NOT agree to taking the half or the $2 bill out of general circulation and only having comemeratives or other numismatic items. No offense to those who like the idea, but I feel its a horrible idea, because I enjoy spending halves, $2 bills and dollar coins.

My favorite oddities in order from most to least favorite go:

#1 $2 bills
#2 halves
#3 dollar coins (Now THESE are what we should stop making, because we already have a $1 denomination in circulation: the $1 bill. And I doubt the government will ever grow the guts to eliminate it. But we do not have a $2 coin or a 50 cent bill, so I say, keep the $2 bill and the half dollar coin. They actually do (or should) have a purpose.

 

If they were commonplace in circulation and you didn't get the curious responses from younger citizens, would you still enjoy spending the halves, dollar coins and $2 bills? They really don't have a purpose.

Upon thinking about it, my system probably makes more sense if you get rid of the $10 and $50 notes, while keeping the $5 & $20 note. This would make four $5 to change $20 and five $20 to change $100.

This would be the breakdown of currency:

5-cent aluminum piece
25-cent cupro-nickel piece (five 5-cent pieces = one 25-cent piece)
$1 cupro-nickel piece (four 25-cent pieces = one $1 piece)
$5 vertical note (five $1 pieces = one $5 note)
$20 vertical note (four $5 notes = one $20 note)
$100 vertical note (five $20 notes = one $100 note)

This would streamline the monetary system, which could increase incentive for the government to increase currency security features. The simplicity of a 6-unit (3 coins and 3 notes) system would mean less potential for errors and recalls by the US Mint and the US BEP. There would be a measurable cost savings over the long-run by eliminating from circulation currency that are admitted novelties and oddities.

As an aside (and not directed in any way at Drago), I always find it curious that the very people who call for smaller government are the same ones who love to collect the different coin types released by our government. There are currently 100+ quarter-dollar and 10+ dollar coins slated for minting that are intended for or currently in circulation. Do we really need THAT many different types of the same coin in our circulated currency? I'm all for commemoratives being sold at a profit to collectors, but that should be a true profit. It shouldn't rely upon circulation to justify the money spent on redesigning the various plates/dies for coin stamping.

 

You guys really think a $2 coin is going to fly? People use less cash all the time. And if we aren't using the 50c piece now why would a redesign put it in circulation? Personally I love the $1 coins and wish people used them but I just don't think they will ever really catch on. We are in the age of debit cards and paying via cell-phones. If anything we should do away with coinage that is so close to other values. We should really only have 3 coins for circulation. 5c, 25c, $1. I know this is sacrilege to this group, and i LOVE the commemorative halfs and $1 I've been collecting, but the days of cash are going the way of snail mail and checks, and when they do your collections will be even MORE valuable!

 

NorthKorea:

I can understand the idea of not wanting so many different designs of coins and currency floating around in circulation. AFTER the State Quarters, THAT should have been IT. No Territory Quarters, NO America the Beautiful Quarters, just the plain old Bald Eagle design we all knew and loved.

I also do NOT like that we have two $1 coin series going. Why do both, a President series and a Native American series. (If I had to choose, it would be the Native American program. Such nicer designs)

Now, sounding the way you do, and you may know I advocate for the return of large denominations, should we also have a $1,000 bill as well and just skip the $500 bill? And someone else on Where's George? said we should also skip the $5,000 bill and reissue the $10,000 bill . Do these ideas interest you at all?


I, on the other hand, prefer more denominations and not less, although I wouldn't mind seeing the cent, nickel, quarter, (to be replaced with a 20 cent coin) and the half, and the $1 $2 and $5 bills to be replaced in favor of $1, $2 and $5 coins.

Bills would be $10, $20, $50, $100, $200, $500 and $1,000 and by 2020 if we are still using cash, $2,000, $5,000 and $10,000.

Those are both my two cents and two dollars on the issue (-;

 

Drago, I don't think we should have denominations above the $500 note, to be honest. My reasoning is that $500 is the most Western Union is willing to send, and transactions in excess of $2500 are now reported (from what I recall) to the government. It would make no sense to have notes larger than $500, since $2500 is five $500 notes. When that reporting level is repealed or raised, then it would make sense to introduce larger currency amounts. The main reason I stopped at $100 bill (with the potential for a "special" $500 note) was based upon counterfeiting. If the US BEP introduced notes with face values in the thousands for circulation, we would be faced with the increased likelihood of counterfeit notes destroying the new currency.

I don't think we'll see 20c coinage, unless we see $2 coinage. Again, the system I detailed of three coins and three notes is based upon the specific structure of currency 5-4-5-4-5. Very easy to remember. The introduction of 20c and $2 coins would increase costs associated with the currency, which would defeat the point of reducing the types of currency in the first place.

gump - I'm not sure how a $2 piece would be received. Again, if we opted for the $2 coin route, in lieu of the $5 note, I would advocate for a 20c piece instead of the quarter, as well. However, as it stands, I don't WANT a $2 coin. I was merely saying that a system would need either a $2 coin or $5 note. Otherwise, change for $10 bill buying 75-cent pack of gum would be 10 coins.

 

This thread evolved from "Let's add half dollars to the US Mint's direct ship program" to "Let's redesign our system of circulating coinage." Both topics are interesting.

I am actually a frequent user of the direct ship program for the dollar coins. I buy anywhere from $250 to $1000 a month depending on how quickly I use them. I get them both because I set aside a few of each type, and sometimes can't find each type at my banks (Buchanan, Fillmore, and Lincoln of all people never made it to the banks I use) and because it is easier to get dollar coins this way than to special order them at my bank.

I would be strongly in favor of adding half dollars to the direct ship program. The same logic seems to apply to them as to the dollar coins. They do not circulate and are not readily available at banks. Consumers who wish to use them simply are not given that option without making a special request at their local bank. The economics would seem to work as well. The mint can make $200 worth of halves for something like $60. Add $10 postage and they still net out $130 in profit for the general fund.

As to coinage, my thoughts are this:

- the dollar coin is fine. The color is good, people will accept it if you just get rid of the dollar bill.
- Cents are useless and should be discontinued.
- The same is true of nickels
- and dimes (When was the last time you bought anything for a dime?)
- Half dollars really are big and clunky for how little they are worth
- So are quarters

So:

- Get rid of the cent, nickel, and dime
- Stop making dollar bills
- Use the golden dollars
- add a golden half and a golden quarter
- add a silver colored or bimetallic $2 coin

That plan is intended to optimize the usefulness of the coinage in circulation. Having done all that, I will add my collector oriented desires. Add a $5, $10, and $20 coin. They don't really need to circulate, but would provide space for more interesting designs and ever more commemorative series. Since no bank would stock them, they would have to be part of the direct ship program as well. Also, with a face value of $10 or $20, they could reasonably be as large as a silver dollar.

 

Lack of demand

Both topics are indeed very interesting, but did you read my above reply regarding what the Mint said when I suggested a half-dollar direct ship? I am also an annual user of direct ship and prefer the Native American designs.

I have strong opinions about currency denominations (and designs) for a modern United States, which I'll post a bit later. But, if I'm not mistaken and read the governmental reports correctly, the reason for discontinuing the $500 through $10000 notes was because of lack of demand, not because of counterfeiting.

Besides, if we, as a country, did just fine through the 1960s (and a bit later) with circulating $10000 bills with almost no security features, why would a modern $10000 with a whole army of security features destroy our economy? Plus, they're worth close to ten times less than they were back in the mid 1940s (when high-denomination notes were last printed).

 

I like the mints free deal. I have been getting 1 $500 box of Sac's every year to cherry pick. If they did fifty centers, I would get $250 of those too. And I like the Sac's. They are great to use in taverns and coffee shops and such. And the homeless, like them a lot.

 

Request them…

Ripley, they're not new and shiny, but go ahead and request your bank keep 50¢ pieces in stock for you (tell them how much per month). I do, about $10 or $20 per month. Plus, you just might find some silver still out there!