I was born in 1973 so it was way before my time, but what was the climate like when the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed? Were there rumors of the removal of silver before it was made public, and when did these rumors start? Was there a mad panic to hoard silver coins? How quickly did the silver coins disappear? I have been working as a clerk in a convenience store since March and have found exactly one silver quarter, a 1964, although I have found about 30 silver dimes. I know that a whole lot of 1965 quarters were minted because I find them ALL the time. Share your stories about this unique time in coin collecting and US history.
I was only 7 in 1964 and I had a good start on a Lincoln set. The job I had didn't pay well. I recall there were lots of folks going to the bank to get a new Kennedy half. It was years later before I knew people were saving silver coins. In about 1967 I was working the cash room in a large department store (S H Kress). I got to count and roll all the change for the next days tills. There was still lots of silver but I only made about a dollar per day. I took my pay in Lincoln cents. My dad had to fire me. I was too slow because I had to look at every date. Those were some cool times.
I had basically stopped collecting in 1959, so I didn't pay much attention to our coinage when the switch occurred. I was in the USAF in '64, and remember looking at my first "sandwiched" coin in hand, and thinking how cheap they looked. I don't recall much hoarding at the time, as the spot price of silver wasn't that much higher than face. I think the 1980 Hunt brothers fiasco made the public much more aware.
I was in the Army in Alaska in 1964 and completely missed all the news about the pending switch to clad coins and the demise of silver. I wish I had known. Silver dollars circulated more than dollar bills. I didn't have much money (military pay was LOW) but if I'd known I'd have gone home with what I DID have in silver dollars rather than currency. News up there wasn't always current. I didn't even know Kennedy had been shot until the next day.
Yes the public knew that the changeover was almost certainly coming before it occurred. I can't give you an exact date that it became well known but everybody was pretty much aware of the problem. They knew there wasn't enough silver to continue making our coins out of silver, that we had to stop using silver. Coins were being hoarded, pulled from circulation by the general public. And this had been going on for some time because of what everybody knew was inevitable. There were claims that coin collectors were responsible for this, causing a coin shortage. I can't readily find when the first of such bills were first proposed to Congress or when it was first discussed. But the Congressional Hearings that resulted in a bill actually being passed in July of 1965 took place before the Committee on Banking and Currency on June 4th, 7th, and 8th, 1965. You can read those entire hearings and the reasons for doing away with silver in our coins here - http://archive.org/stream/coinageactheari00statgoog/coinageactheari00statgoog_djvu.txt
I was 14 back in '64 and ran a paper route after school. The price for the weekly daily was 30 cents so when you went to 'collect' on Friday most folks threw you two quarters or a 50 cent piece. I got all my Frankies (album) out of circulation along with many Walkers. Wish I had saved more of those 50 cent pieces. And I remember it was like pulling teeth to get Kennedy Halfs......nobody had 'em and when the bank got them in they quickly sold out. It was very frustrating for a young collector but eventually a neighbor lent a hand. He used to do a lot of traveling and after hearing of my non-successes, brought me back six from one of his journeys. I've still got them..........
There was also (Mongo don't like coins) Alan Bible, who introduced a bill that would ban collecting coins unless they were on the Treasury's list of bonafide collectibles. Good read. http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/clad_coins_welcomed_coolly_by_collectors
I was in high school in 1964 and was into coins then. I wrote a term paper on the US coin silver issue for an American History class, and received an "A" on it. I recycled the paper the following year for a junior college writing class. "A" again.
Other than what I've read on forums, I have no idea. You see, I was only 16 and coins were simply not on my radar as much as a Corvette Sting Ray, 57 Chevy or the blonde I had Math Class with! I do remember folks talking about whether or not they'd gotten their 1964 Kennedy Half Dollars and the small talk about how the "R" in LIBERTY was under Kennedy's hair. As for clad coinage, there was some small talk about it but nothing which really stood out other than what it would look like. I was just another dumb teenager with fumes on the brain! Per-fumes and Car-fumes.
