I was going through a pile of Kennedy half dollars today and I realized that I have never seen a worn out one. We've all seen worn out coins...some completely smooth on one side or around the edges. Does anyone have an example of a really worn out Kennedy half dollar we can see?
My 1994-D Kennedy Half has been my pocket piece since 1994. (I lost the previous one that I had carried for about 15 years.) This photo was taken about 3 years ago so the coin has more wear now.
At a garage sale a couple of years ago a guy showed me one that was so smooth you could barely make out the outline of Kennedy. 30+ years in his pocket as a reminder of when his wife took him back.
Also, just for fun, you should try getting that PCGS or NGC certified and see what it comes back as ! Or you could wait until it has a little bit more wear (like to VG grade). What do you think the grade is now? -Brian
I've never seen a worn one either, except for the pics posted in this thread. Of course how often do you see a half anyway? I'm 28 and I can remember maybe getting a half back in change maybe twice in my life. I worked in retail for 4 years in high school and all that time I don't remember ever getting a half from a customer. They are like $2 bills. If people do get them back in some change they hoard them thinking they are rare simply because you never see many in circulation. I've never seen a worn $2 bill either, always nice and crisp. Next time I go to the bank I plan on getting a bunch of $2 bills and half dollars and probably dollar coins and start spending them just so people think I'm eccentric. I've heard many stories of people getting into confrontations with cashiers for trying to spend a $2 bill and the cashiers insisting it is a fake bill because $2 don't really exist. I even heard a guy got arrested at a Best Buy store for paying his bill with 50 or so $2 bills. The charges were dropped after the secret service verified the bills were legit, but still. Maybe these stories are a myth, but I could buy it. I've met people who didn't believe a $2 was real until I showed them some of mine.
I ran to my pile after reading this and all I could think was why do we hoard half's and $2 bills? Funny to say the least. So here is my best worst Kennedy:smile
Yeah, I was guilting of the same thing as a kid, but then I realized that they weren't worth more than face value. People do the same thing with modern dollars now. I've had people who know that I collect coins (so they think I'm some kinda expert on them, right?) ask me how much a Sacajawea dollar is worth. I mean they are only 11 years old at most and people still think they are worth more than a dollar. Speaking of two dollar bills though I was going through some of my great aunts things just the other day and she apparently hoarded them. Most are newer ones from the 70's (if you wanna call that new), but she had some from the 50's back when they were still United States Notes and not federal reserve notes. Even had two from 1928 and some $1 silver certificates. I think I will hoard those ones.
I think people hoard as to feel a sense of knowledge. Coin collectors know a lot about coins and currency so when we see a half dollar or two dollar bill, since we know ten times more about them than laymen we get a feeling of nostalgia and we want to keep that feeling so we hold onto the coins and two dollar bills. They are still worth fifty cents or two dollars in the general public but to us it is a sense of specialty knowing that we are among the few people who actually know, in depth, about them. Take pennies for example. When people see The new dezign introduced in 2010 they might think oh thats cool, and then they go and spend it. But to us we see it as a new variety and since we know the years and years of history behind the lincoln cent, we (or me atleast) want to keep them and cherrish them. -Ryan
I keep the very first new design of any coin I get back from each mint in change, and I always order an uncirculated P and D of new designs as well as a proof of the coin. After that, I just throw them in my change jar. I appreciate the history of the cent, I'm trying to get at least a P mint from every year, so I go through my change for the years that I don't have yet, but I'm not going to hoard every penny I get back. I do keep any wheat cents I find as well as pre 1965 quarters and dimes and "war nickles" if I come across any. It rarely happens, but sometimes I get lucky. I'm just waiting for the day I get an Indian head back in some change. I'll jump for joy then, lol. Other then what I just mentioned all my change gets saved, deposited, and spent on other coins that I want. Sometimes I want to spend some of my least valuable poor grade IHC (I have several) just to put a few in circulation. Eventually somebody that appreciated coins would know what it was and it would make their week when they got it back in their pocket change, even if it was a low grade from a common year. I just can't get myself to actually spend one though.
haha. Dont spend em man. Even if they are low grade and not key dates they are still a part of history and part of your personal collection. It would be hilarious though if you spent one and like two months later you got it back at like some little convinience store or something
Yeah, but it could spark someone else's interest in collecting coins. I pretty much started my own collection by saving my wheaties. My dad and I would buy a coin every now and then, but he always stored them away. My wheat collection was always mine that I could look at anytime I wanted to. Then I got so I wanted a Lincoln cent from every year, so started doing that. After my dad died I found a large jar full of IHC in his lock box. None were valuable really and all were low grade. I guess they are ones he might have got back in change when he was a kid. I don't know how long they were still in circulation after the Lincoln cent was minted, but I still find a wheatie in my change every now and then and they haven't been minted for over 50 years. Even a person who knew nothing about coins would probably see an 1898 and think WOW! This is probably worth a fortune! and keep it. Even if I ever do spend a few they probably wouldn't stay in circulation very long. When I was a cashier I would always take a few pennies with me in case someone spend a wheatie I could exchange it with a penny from my pocket and keep the wheatie for myself, so even if I spend an IHC, who knows, the cashier might keep it for themselves. I look at it as being a cent well spent if it would spark someone elses interest in starting a coin collection.
Good point clay. I guess if there are coins that you dont care for that much why not spark a new coin collector instead of letting it Collect dust unloved hahaha
I think halves/dollar coins/two dollar bills are very rare in horrible condition. Why I think that is simple. The reason coins get worn is because they are circulated. Most people don't use the coins, and so they don't get circulated, which means that very few make it to become AG.
