New bank fee on returning coins

You are missing my point.

Halves don't circulate. Businesses that receive them don't and won't give them out as they believe that customers hate them.

Coin dealers and coin roll searchers ask for them. They are the only people who do so frequently. The banks are aware of this.

Those people in these two groups who establish friendly/profitable relationships (for the bank) can/are getting them. as you say. That is a very small percentage of a bank's customers.

Today... the banks will still 'put up with your time wasting and bothering' which produces no profit for them.

But interest rates are rising. Inflation is rising. Bank profits are going to get squeezed. Easy fix for the half dollar problem - stop ordering them and/or put a fee to return them.

Banks don't want your halves. That is the point. There is no call for them by businesses or the general population. The "busiest banks" in America can do whatever they want... but most of the rest of the banks want to avoid halves as if they caused disease.

 

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I didn't miss your point I guess I just didn't articulate my response as a true rebuttal.

1. Who hates halves? They are just uncommon.

2. Not sure why, if this statement is true, this matters. The banks are on to us?

3. It's a bank. That's what they do, amongst other things.

4. Yes, they do. And will until they all merge into one financial institution that can say no to anyone's requests.

5. This is where my brain may have disconnected from its base earlier and I went the more realistic route with my approach. But I'll bite. Yes, interest rates will rise and they will just pass this increase along for the consumer to pick up the tab, like always. Inflation is not an anomaly, it is a part of this system. It's a byproduct which has been happening for a very, very long time. Longer than there have been non-silver half dollars. Banks won't allow their profits to get squeezed. What is the "half dollar problem?" And why should the half be singled out?

6. Pretty presumptuous statement here. As long as they are a form of legal US coinage you will be able to get them at a bank and deposit them at a bank. And what references are you referring to for your information? I've HEARD that there was talk of the Nickel being eliminated because of the lack of its use, but since I can't find anything solid (from a reputable printed source) about that I'm not going to state it as fact.

 

Everyone hates halves. People don't want them. They don't want to carry them around, they don't want to spend them, they don't want them in their change.
The banks don't want them it is just more work for them for an obsolete coin.
The CRHers have been exploiting this half/ silver situation for years and it is going to come to an abrupt end one way or the other.

 

All due respect, and I do mean that, but you sound like the last guy. I'm not saying that you are wrong and everyone would love to get a half rather than 2 quarters, but how can you say that everyone hates halves like you've done extensive research and this is a fact. "Ew, um...no. Can you take that crappy last-week coin back and give me two quarters before I die?" "Ey, yo. What are ya tryin ta do to me, make me drown in a puddle? Get outa heah wit dat anvil and gimme two quawtas." I mean cmon. That's what I keep reading instead of reasons why it is still around or when it started to loose popularity. Thank you for not making it sound like the half is the reason banks are going to crumble in this shifting economic environment, but please give some usable insight. And I'm not disagreeing that one day, like all coins after a good, long run (except the Roosevelt Dime that will probably see the second coming) the Kennedy half will disappear. I believe (<key term, not stating fact) it will be replaced with another .50 piece, probably something of a smaller form factor. Can anyone remember when this denomination became so undesireable? It's been around as long as the Quarter and, if not for general circulation, why is the thing still being minted if everyone hates it so much?

 

Here's why halves are undesirable:

They're large and bulky. (Yes, they have exactly as much metal, weight, and volume as two quarters, but their larger diameter makes them less convenient.)

Vending machines and self-checkout stations don't accept them.

Cash registers no longer have slots for them.

Between these three things, and particularly the last two, they've become curiosities and annoyances instead of pocket change. I'm unhappy about it too, but I acknowledge it.

 

While halves are a PITA, $2s are actually accepted in most vending machines or U-Scans. And instead of having two $1s I have one $2.

 

Our banks in the US are not healthy. They are no longer the money making machines they once were. They have reduced the workers from top to bottom. At this point they are looking at anything that cost them money and must charge fees to help cover the cost.

 

The fact that they are still being produced has nothing to do with the fact that people want/ don't want them.
That is out of our control. The halves will stop being produced when congress gets around to it, and nobody want's them. It is an obsolete amount for a coin these days.
I think the fact that they have been NOT INTENDED FOR CIRCULATION
since (2001?) and produced in much lower quantities is an indication of weaning off of it.

 

My one bank won't order halves, and don't stock them at all.
If they happen to have some from customers they'll sell them to you just to get rid of them.

My Credit Unions on the other hand have no problems with halves.

 

TANSTAAFL

The bank/credit union has costs. Fees to the armored car company, fees to the Fed for ordering, rent on the vault space, insurance, shortages (people don't always put 40 or 50 coins into the roll), etc.

Instead of covering this out of the general overhead, they are charging a fee directly to those using the service (in the OP's case who don't generate revenue other ways). So as an account holder not using the coin services, I'm no longer paying your share. GREAT!

 

I guess I'm a bit unusual. When I buy a box of halves, and after searching for the handful of silver I'll get, I then spend them at stores, etc. Usually, no more than $10 in halves per transaction, but at least .50 in every transaction.

I do the same with cents, nickels, etc. I slowly re-spend them.

Of note: Most Wal Mart stores have a self serve check out area. The machines actually accept halves! (Home Depot also)

 

My bank charges non account holders and no charge for account holders. Entirely reasonable in my opinion.

 

I boycott Wal-Mart but when I did spend there up to three years ago they didn't take halves in their U-Scan machines.

 

PITA?

 

Pain In The .... I'll let you figure out the last word ....

 

Why does everyone seem to think banks order coins from the Fed? or that MWR come from the "Fed" or they are "Rolls from the Fed"? Just interested because, they don't. Coins for banks come from cash management services such as Loomis, Brinks, etc. These CMS roll their own coins as banks return $1000 bags of Halfs, or $2000 bags of dollar coins, etc. then redistribute those coins. Fees for ordering cash and coins are charged to the bank by the CMS. The Mint or Fed does not distribute coins or cash for that matter to member banks. They do distribute funds to member banks via digital means but the Federal Reserve trucks aren't driving around, delivery or collecting coins from banks.

When you dump large quantity of coins via rolling them, the bank actually has to unroll each roll and place them in plastic bank bags which are picked up by one of the CMS companies and rerolled, and redistributed.

I'm not being critical here, just wondering why everyone thinks the Federal Reserve is in the business of rolling coins and take orders for them.

 

I was curious about that too because the banks/credit unions around here mainly use Brink and Loomis for cash distribution. I've never seen a "Federal Reserve" truck driving around though I don't know how the local Brinks/Loomis get their cash. I've seen rolled coins in "Brinks" stamped paper or plastic rolls.

I assume Brinks/Loomis get their cash from a the local Detroit Federal Reserve.
But I don't know how the Detroit Federal Reserve gets their cash for distribution (from a main Fed Bldg I assume).

I've never really bothered to look into it as long as I can withdraw money I'm good with it.

 

Not at all true. Cash register drawers have the same number of slots as they always had.

The problem is that pennies and nickels are being placed in the half and dollar slots. Simple fix - stop issuing pennies and nickels!!! and start rounding prices off like they did in the good old days when a penny still bought a piece of candy.

Inflation denial by the politicians and business owners =pennies and nickels are in circulation despite not having any purchasing power.

 

The "intermediaries" like Brinks and Loomis can order coins and banknotes to distribute, I believe. Coins come from the Mints and banknotes come from the Federal Reserve.

How else would new coins and banknotes get into circulation??? This is why you sometimes get new dated rolls from them and crisp new bundles of consecutively numbered banknotes.

 

During the highest inflation years - 1982 and 83 - I remember finding new dated coins as early as about January 15. This happened because demand for coins by businesses was very high.

When the economy is bad... it takes longer to see new dated coins. I am in the Midwest. I found my first 2017 dated coins (dime first, then nickel, still no penny or quarter) two weeks ago in May. This is very late. It points to the local economy here being very weak.