Half-dollars...I haven't seen any kind of half-dollar in circulation in more years than I can remember. Consider yourself very lucky.
If I was confusing, I was talking about quarters. That said, I have received halves in change but very seldom and don’t recall any silver. The most recent one was a bicentennial Kennedy, well circulated. It now lives in my half full 5-gallon water bottle.
I found a silver quarter (1954) in circulation last fall 2020. First one I've found since the 70s! Back then the only silver quarters I found were 50% and 80% Canadian from the 60s. Used to find 40% half dollars regularly back then!
I got a silver quarter once in my change at a Dollar Tree years ago, and I found one in the coinstar reject a couple months ago. Silver Rosies are much more common and I get one in a coinstar maybe once a month or two. I've never searched halves but I assume the 40%ers are easier to get than the 90s since they're not as widely known.
i personally think that is the reason so many have switched over to error coins.its kinda obvious that the big coin recyclers armored trans.etc.have initiated a culling proscess to remove all coins with higher melt than face value. i should ad that ive searched around 15 cases of golden dollars and havent found a single silver one yet.lol happy hunting.
In 6-7 years of metal detecting, I've found 3 or 4 silver quarters, one of them a very sharp 1944-P. But not for a couple of years, now. If/when I ever find another, I guess I'll have to do my "silver dance" to celebrate. Silver dimes are few and far between. My best bet is to find piles of clad quarters (I don't throw them back), cash them in and buy silver quarters!
I got a 1964 25c from the local grocery store in 2015. That was the first in probably 30 years, but I don't roll search, just look at my change. I wonder if there will be an uptick in finding them, because the people who pulled them out and stuck them in jars 50+ years ago are moving on, and I get the impression that most cashiers etc don't know that silver ever circulated. I see 1965 quarters all the time...
Havent found one silver coin ( as in dimes, nickels , quarters , or halfs ) as of yet . I run across wheat pennies often tho . .
I found a zombie quarter once. It had been dead for 11 years but somebody brought it back to life and now every time I turn around it's there again. Weird.
Silver Canadian quarters ran through 1968. Up to 1967 they were 80% silver. 1967 we're also made in 50% silver. 1968 was 50% silver.
A bit less than half the 1968 mintage was 50% silver, the rest was 100% nickel. I've got several of the nickel ones that were represented as silver. They stick firmly to a magnet.
Oh yeah, I remember something about these made in nickel. I've got a bobcat quarter and an elk quarter some where around here. I'll have to find them and check them out more closely.
With the 1967 Canadians, I believe some were 80% and the later ones were 50% and I have no idea how to tell the difference other than using some expensive metallurgical device that shows metal content.