What I would most like to see is the return (from the US Mint) of

the Half Dollar coin. To me, it filled a need. As a young boy, I got one a week as my allowance. Sometimes I would (unable to withstand the temptation any more) go off to the Woolworth's on Fordham Road with 5 or 6 of them in my pocket. Who knew they were about to vanish? I think it is all well and good that the Mint decided to pull the half dollar Kennedy coin out of general circulation, but I believe the decision to not replace it with an alternate kept in circulation was a poor one. I would like to see the Mint bring back the half dollar coin, even if it was struck in a base metal, as long as it was in the original size (perhaps in one of the original designs, just gold colored), I think it would again be a popular coin. I have dozens of current penny rolls I would love to replace with a few dozen current half dollars. Simply put when a store clerk gives me more than .50 in change I grimace at that and would much prefer the first .50 be just one coin instead of a mix of coins.

 

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The use of the half dollar was not caused by any action of the mints. The vending machines were made with a slot too small for the half dollar and when product prices i.e. cigarettes got too expensive they were no longer used by buyers.

BTW they still make about 3 million circulation halves every year for collectors.

 

I use half dollars all the time. I rarely receive them as change. They are all still out there... just have to ask.

 

The Half Dollar coin was not created for vending machines. It was created as a once popular alternative to being forced to carry mixes of coins instead of just one .50 piece. I am sorry for the owners of vending machines, but still the decision to pull it out of circulation was a decision of the government, and it's absence leaves a void a mix of coins don't fill. Clearly the hoarders of the Kennedy coins didn't help the situation, which is why I suggest a base metal substitute of original half dollar size so that when we put our hands into our pockets we can tell which is which as surely as our fingers can tell a dime from a quarter.

 

BTW, Coins being made exclusively for collectors are NOT what I mean by putting the half dollar coin back into circulation.

 

Jensenbay: I am with you. I bought a few dozen rolls of Kennedy's and keep one or two in my pocket and now and then give them out when I make small purchases. It is very sad to me that I often run into young clerks who have never even seen one before and once or twice questioned accepting such a 'strange' coin. To me, I blame the Mint.

 

Half dollar coins do not circulate because the American public does not want to use them.
They were not removed from circulation by a decision of the government, but by a decision of the populace.

 

Once my wife and were eating at a deli and I used a half when paying for our meal. The kid who took it was showing it to the other employees as if he had found something really cool. I use them all the time and sometimes they'll ask me what the face value is, but they always take them without hesitation.

 

Rick is right. The Mint suspended production of business strike Half Dollars for circulation because there is no demand for new coins. The number of Half Dollars currently in circulation is enough to meet the small demand for them.

Kennedy Half Dollars made for circulation are cupro-nickel (75% copper & 25% nickel). So they are already made from base metals. And it is not a popular coin for circulation.

Oh, no! Not the hoarders!!!

 

the vending machines at work allow you to slide one in put it comes right back out the return slot that made me mad

 

Hey, better than keeping it and giving you nothing!

 

well at my last job i had to ride a bus so i baught rolls of halfs. i was hopeing they would work in the machine so i could use them that way to

 

i thought they were going to make 20 million of them next year for the 50th anniversary to try to get them in circulation. too bad their not changing the design any though

 

What void does the half dollar coin fill? Kids in America these days don't get 50-cent per week (or even per day!) allowances. Also, two quarters aren't any less convenient than one 50-cent piece. In fact, since the mass-produced coin sorters have compartments for 1-cent, 5-cent, 10-cents, 25-cents, and occasionally $1, adding 50-cent coins into the mix is non-viable. Most stores do their cash counts with the following columns:

Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters for coins
$1, $5, $10, $20, $100 for bills
All other (50-cent coin, $1 coin, $2 bill, $50 bill) typically end up in "miscellaneous".

The fact that individual collectors find it difficult to gather 50-cent coins from circulation is more an example of their lack of utility than an excess demand. The US Mint should definitely NOT produce additional 50-cent pieces for circulation, unless the plan is to get rid of the quarter and penny.

This is the basic argument that ends up being considered when talking about "introducing" a 50-cent piece:

"It fills a demand!!!" - It really doesn't unless we create an artificial demand.
"I shouldn't have to pay more than 50-cents for a 50-cent coin!" - Well, I shouldn't have to pay more than $1 for a Flowing Hair type or Heraldic dollar, but no one listens to me either.

There are more people who like the quarter than people who like halves, so the halves will not be a focus of circulation.

(Pretty much being asinine from here out. I don't advocate for getting rid of small denomination coins/bills, nor do I advocate for the introduction of denominations which have been evolved out of circulation.)

If we got rid of the penny, the dime and the quarter, 20-cent and 50-cent pieces would make sense. Then we'd have nickels and halves. We could introduce 20-cent and $2 coins to fill the need for a "change" feeling in our pockets. Then remove the $1, $2, $5, $10 and $50 bills from circulation. To adjust to the inflationary impact of having the dime be our smallest circulating unit, $500 bills could be printed for circulation purposes.

So, the new system of money in the US would be:

Coins: 5-cent, 20-cent, 50-cent, $2
Bills: $5, $20, $100, $500

End of asinine commentary.

Honestly, the 50-cent piece serves no purpose. We shouldn't have a system where we have six coins, five of which somehow work to be a 2:1 combination of another unit.

 

As for the half dollar, I’m happy buying low mintage Kennedy Halves from the mint.

As for what I’d like to see come back from the mint, that would be reasonable prices that don’t include markups high enough to run the mint with no taxpayer participation. We all use coins, so why shouldn’t we all pay for the cost to manufacture them?

 

I always carry Half Dollar/Golden dollar coins for leaving a Tip. Waitresses in any Restaurant I ate. Four golden Dollars Uncirculated + One or two half dollars. Reaction of waitresses of course looking at me so dearly! Coins are UNCIRCULATED!

 

You have a good point,the collector coins need to cover their own costs. But the premiums charged for the Kennedy rolls is getting to be a bit out of hand.

 

Do they force you to buy them?