Are you using half dollars for daily purchases?

I do use half dollars in everyday use. Actually, the toll booth employee receives 10 of them everytime I cross any one of the San Fran bay area bridges (except the Golden Gate).

 

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Half info and experience

I call halves, dollar coins, and $2s spent together as the "trifecta." Recently, I found a bag several hundred Ike dollars, so I can throw that in for added fun. I don't torture foreigners, but young US-Americans are fair game. Most are accepted in NE Oklahoma without much thought, but some either read them or ask and take my word for it. Granted, I live in a fairly low-crime, wealthier area, and speed is more important to them, than spending man-hours verifying the authenticity of a half-dollar.

It's so weird that our currency has three denominations which are relatively disused, yet have never been discontinued. Other than those countries that have cash of very high or very low value, we take the cake, with having only rag dollars used between $0.25 and $5.00.

For those of you who have halves but don't spend them, why not? To answer the OP's question: That's what they're minted for, after all, like every other denomination.

Personally, I withdraw rolls (about $30 per month or so) for use for spending. I was lucky to find a 40% half in about $300 worth, but that's it. Never found silver elsewhere in the past 2 years that I've been looking. It's just not worth it any more, with over a generation passed since silver was discontinued.

I'm also a Where's George user. Two dollar bills are fun. I recommended all forum.wheresgorge.com users to check out cointalk.com, so now I suggest the same (but vice versa).

So, use those halves, dollar coins, and twos (and ask you banks for Ikes--they make great tips, as well as payment). Save your government money buy using them. Using $10 in halves is not a burden to the payee.

Kookoox10: Do half-dollars work in the auto change bucket at toll roads/bridge, or do you have to hand them to a person at the booth. Same question for Ikes. This would make a good thread, if anyone wants to post it. I may try them, here in the capitol of turnpikes, Oklahoma.

 

Here in the bay area, you either hand the money to an actually toll booth attendent or do the electronic FasTrak pass where you don't have to stop. This applies to all 6 toll bridges here. I lived in Florida for 5 years, so I know the toll roads use the person-less baskets there.

 

I leave little stacks of them as tips in restaurants.

 

I don't roll search, but I do appreciate finding halves, dollar coins, $2 bills... then I use them as gifts for kids. Then I teach them each time we meet a little more about numismatics and fiat currency.

 

For CoinStar machines in grocery stores they usually allow you to take full value as a gift card for the iTunes Store, Home Depot, Best Buy or some other merchants. They seem to vary from time to time, so check it out the next time you are there. If you plan on using these merchants then run the coins thru the machine, take the certificate and spend away.

We do this for roll-searched pennies and nickles, then apply the funds to our iTune store account.

 

Someone's gunna have to say it so I guess it'll be me. Smoking Kills.

 

I use both Half Dollars and Dollar coins whenever I can and haven't had one rejected as of yet, but sometimes they give the coins a weird look which makes me smile! I have even had positive comments about the coins from several of the clerks I have seen.

 

I utilize halves, dollar coins and $2s for normal purchases all the time. I generally use twos for tips when I travel ( bellman; cab stands; etc). I ask my local bofa to order me a box of halves every three to four months and search for silver, but I spend whatever is regular clad. I really enjoy recirculating these denominations.

I use dollar coins less frequently, but spend at least a few per week

 

I just went through the box I inherited from my dad and I really need to get rid of all the coins. He saved every Ike, SBA, and Kennedy he received as pocket change. (He also saved every Franklin, but I'm ok with that, lol.)

So I'm planning to pay for $2 purchases with an Ike and a SBA and see how many people get confused.

 

I'm shocked if I even have cash in my wallet much less coins that half of the population have ever seen or touched... I miss pocket change dearly but the plastic has taken over my purchasing, unfortunately. But the city I live in has recently reinstated light rail so perhaps people will start carrying more change to go on rides.

Unfortunatley, I can't remember the last time I saw a half dollar in circulation. Years ago, a old ex friend of mine received a 1964 Kennedy in change. He had no idea it was from the bygone days of money with inherent value. He said "wow, thanks, I was going to buy smokes with it."

 

Not really. Kind if difficult in the Euro zone ;-)

 

I also spend my half dollars, one time the cashier asked me real serrious like, are you having to spend your coin collection?

 

i use them everyday. theres a glitch in the soda machine at our school, it takes them as $1, so i get my sodas for 25c :devil:. i usually carry about 5 or 6 in my pocket and use them for small purchases, but sometimes ill unload a large amount of them at once. theres a credit union near me with a rolling machine that you can use for $3 so sometimes ill use it to re-roll my leftovers and spend the full machine-wrapped rolls. i try to spend the newest ones first so the cashiers dont think theyre "old" and keep them. i also use $1 coins and $2 bills in place of $1 bills, but i dont use ikes very often. whenever someone asks me for change for a twenty they get halves or twos.