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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ewomack, post: 25143118, member: 15588&quot;]I&#039;ve toured the Denver Mint, the Philadelphia Mint, and the Winnipeg Mint all within the last 5 - 10 years. All of them said that Half Dollars (even the ones in Canada) are minted purely for collectors and profit in mind. The tour guide in Canada even said that the Canadian mint (who has much more control over coinage - they can alter it without an act from Parliament, which helps explain why they could eliminate their cent and introduce $1 and $2 coins) tried to eliminate the 50 cent piece and there was an &quot;uprising&quot; from collectors, so they keep minting them and keep making a profit off of them. </p><p><br /></p><p>The tour guide at the Denver Mint, who was fantastic, explained why the cent still exists, which others have already explained. First, it would take an act of congress. Second, though the Mint loses money on cents and nickels, they more than make up for it with the other coins (more the quarter than the half dollar, it seems), so the mint has remained profitable overall and no one in government sees a real problem, so things just continue on unchanged. He also said half dollars exist purely for collectors, though they still do have some limited circulation. He mentioned no plans to discontinue it, but that was a few years ago now.</p><p><br /></p><p>As far as &quot;key denominations&quot; go, the half dollar never played a dominant circulating monetary role as inflation has progressed. Back in the 1930s, the dime had enough buying power to inspire the song &quot;Brother, can you spare a dime?&quot; A look at old restaurant menus from the era and references in old movies, etc., also reinforces this. When I was growing up (much later than the 1930s), dimes had very little buying power but a quarter was still something worth having. Sometime after that, the dollar took on the monetary focus that the quarter once did. The half dollar, probably just due to low circulation, never seemed to have any real importance in circulation. It was probably just replaced in circulation by two quarters. I remember, as a child, having to go to my local back and exchanging a dollar for two half dollars just to see one. </p><p><br /></p><p>As for change overall, it now all seems to exist purely for making change, similar to the half cent of the 19th century. In others words, it&#039;s pretty hard to find anything worth buying for less than a dollar these days. Change only exists to for the remainder of purchases, but it can&#039;t really buy much of value in and of itself anymore. Arguably, the $5 or $20 bill now plays the role that dimes, quarters, and dollars once did. Coins are only needed for the decimal sections of purchases. They have become relatively economically insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially compared to the more dominant roles they played in earlier times.</p><p><br /></p><p>But, as long as the world needs change, change will likely persist. As long as Congress has more important things to do, the cent will persist. And pocket change will likely keep having less and less monetary value.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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