With the base metal half dollar being just under half the price of th 99.9% silver dollar, why is the half-dollar not 99.9% silver at half the weight. You know like in olden times 1789-1964 when coins had silver in ratio of their face value.
The clad commemorative half dollars are now massively overpriced which is a shame. Time was these coins were cheap enough for YNs to buy them. Now that is no longer the case. There used to be educational cards for the YNs with these coins mounted in them. Now those cards seem to have disappeared. I say shame on the mint.
There are only two silver halfs in the whole commem (modern) run.....I quite agree there should be more of them but the only way for that to happen is to write to our congressmen who introduce the legislation.
If the mint continues to charge over $30 for the commemorative half dollars, they should be at least 40% clad silver.
Précisément, mon ami, but if we were to write our desires for silver included in future issues down the road, perhaps our voices would be heard.
I mean if you can convince enough members of congress theyd get significantly more votes changing how they write the law in the future they'd change it, but I wouldnt hold your breath. While your at it get them to lower the mintage, the 750k mintage is way to high which also turns a lot of people off, I dont think a single one has ever sold out at that number
I pass on the commemorative issues, as they seldom commemorate major milestones and are always way over priced.
Would writing the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) / various people at the Mint / anyone else other than elected officials have a better chance of getting noticed? Yes, the Senators/Representatives introduce the legislation, but there are plenty of advisors for the various committees and legislative assistants to do that actual work. PS: Can you image having a 2001-D clad half-dollar version of the Buffalo commemorative?. All that was done was the silver BU and silver Proof (and later the 99.99 gold bullion) so someone had enough clout to prevent a half-dollar version of this coin. From PCGS CoinFacts: The 2001 Buffalo Dollar coins today, exist thanks to Ben Nighthorse Campbell from Colorado. Campbell was one of forty-four chiefs from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. It all began in 1995, when Campbell proposed the reintroduction of the buffalo design on a U.S. coin. Campbell’s original proposal was to produce a five-cent coin made out of silver depicting the historical buffalo design. However, his proposal was turned down by congress numerous times. A 5-cent silver commemorative!? Has anyone looked at the RoyalMint.com? They make a regular proof set and an ALL SILVER proof set (so no copper or nickel). I'm not sure if they're hobbled like the US where coinage requires legislative laws.
Agreed, the whole point of having the clad halves was to provide a coin low enough in price that young numismatists could afford them. The first clad halves in 1986 cost $5 with $2.50 of that being the surcharge that went to refurbishing the Statue of Liberty. By 2008 the price had risen to $8 (including $2.50 surcharge) a 60% increase over 22 years. Today, 14 years later, they have risen another 312% over the 2008 price to $33 (Still with just a $2.50 surcharge). Now I understand inflation and that costs have gone up, but 300%? That's a 12% per annum compounded interest rate. The clad halves are no longer something for YN's, they are strictly a money maker for the Mint.
