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 Replies: 32 / Views: 4,894 |
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Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
Foxwoods Man,
Thays not true about $2 bills and halves around here. I spent a bunch of halves at a local Family Dollar store months back, and the next time I seen the guy working there, he said he was handing them out in change like crazy, and the people loved them. Same with places about $2 bills. People like those too. I know most people probably just hoard them and put them away now, but if vending and self checkouts and possibly cashiers started passing them out, then there would be so many $2 bills and halves in circulation where people wouldn't hoard them anymore.
As far as the dollar coin, I know some people mention a weight issue, but the main reason for the dollar coin not circulating is the continued production of the $1 bill. As I have said, the half dollar coin dosn't have a 50 cent bill to compete with, nor does the $2 bill have a $2 coin to compete with, so that makes things a little more easy and likable for those two denominations.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4901 Posts |
The reason $2 bills and halves do not presently circulate is because they weren't used when they WERE made for circulation. Just because YOU used them recently and the clerk got rid of them doesn't mean people across the USA like them for daily use. They were tried and they failed (like the dollar coin). They are now a novelty when used but will never be part of daily usage again.
Personally, I love the $2 bill and the dollar coin ($1 coin more than $2 bill) but I accept that I am in the very slim minority.
I have used the one and two euro coins for years and I (and the whole EU) think they are great buy the citizens of the USA are of a different mindset.
You are correct about the non-use of the dollar coin because of the coexistence of the bill BUT every time it was suggested that the bill be eliminated the proposition was defeated. I guess there is no dollar coin lobby in Congress.
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Moderator
 United States
189142 Posts |
Quote:
... the main reason for the dollar coin not circulating is the continued production of the $1 bill. True.  Get rid of the one dollar note, you will then see both the dollar coin and two dollar note circulate more. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Remember although the coin has been around for over 25 years and the Secretary of the Treasury can change the design any time he choses, they really don't have the guts to do so. So any change in the design of the Half dollar will require congressional legislation, a process that typically takes anywhere from one to four years to accomplish. And then it typically takes a year to eighteen months to come up with and approve a design and work out the bugs for production. Right now you have nine months and no legislation has even been introduced. Odds for a design change are pretty much zero. On the other hand the mint is real big into special finishes right now and that they can do without any legislation So I could easily see a special proof set with an RP maybe a W mintmark or some other special "tweak." (I wonder would the same coin design, but turn the President around and make him face right be considered a design change? The authorizing legislation doesn't specify which direction he has to face.)
Edited by Conder101
03/18/2013 12:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
Foxwoods Man,
No need to get snippy with me. The way I always heard it was, a vicious circle as far as halves go. The circle goes: One side of the circle is: The vending industry doesn't accept halves because the general public doesn't use halves. And the other side of the coin is, people don't use halves because vending machines don't accept them. I'm currently trying to change that by working with the vending industry to break that circle. One vendor even told me he was strongly in favor of doing so, but he wasn't the boss and had to listen to what his boss wants. So give me some credit, instead of getting an atitude with me. I believe its the same story with the $2 bill, because most bill acceptors, as I've heard, ARE programmed to accept $2 bills, but most vending companies remove that data from the bill accepyors, for a reason I forget, but I believe that the vendors just wanted more data space, perhaps for another denomination. Again, I am trying to break the circle, while working with the vending industry on the issue. I also want to talk with the self checkout industry, as the vending industry told me that the self checkout industry is an entirely seperate business, but I suspect that, if I get vending machines to accept $2 bills, and accept and dispense halves as needed, cashiers at most, if not all stores will stock their caash drawer with them. The $2 bill's upcoming redesign may also help the $2 bill's cause of circulation. As for halves, that is unknown as of yet because nothing has been said about a half redesign. As for the dollar coin, if the Dollar Coin Alliance has its way, maybe the half, $1 coin, and $2 bill will start circulating, if they get rid of the penny as well, and use the coin slots 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c, and $1, and the bill slots $2, $5, $10, $20, $50/$100 (and hopefully $200 and $500 bills in the near future, whether there are many other ways to pay for things or not)
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Valued Member
United States
149 Posts |
Best if they just stopped making them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4901 Posts |
Hmmm...a bit touchy there Fox. No "attitude' intended...just stating facts....adapting a machine to accept a product that is not in use is, to me anyway, an exercise in futility. Remember the USPS and the stamp machines that accepted $1 coins? Didn't fly....not saying it doesn't make sense...just didn't fly.
I really doubt that the Mint will resume striking circulation halves just because there are vending machines that accepts them. The public didn't use them at all and they stopped making them. Made sense to me....
The $2 bill is another story...If the dollar coin is accepted AND the $1 bill eliminated then it has a chance. Right now it is more of a novelty and is tucked away on the rare occasion it is received in change...More potential than possibility....
I bet if you surveyed 100 people on the street you will MAYBE find one that presently has one on their person. Pointless with the $1 bill around....
Edited by Foxwoods Man
03/19/2013 4:55 pm
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Moderator
United States
189142 Posts |
Quote:
Remember the USPS and the stamp machines that accepted $1 coins? Didn't fly....not saying it doesn't make sense...just didn't fly. I have to disagree. Around here those machines were stocked with dollar coins for change. When people got them, they knew they could use them there next time and not be stuck with them. Unfortunately, most probably thought they would only work there. This was my source for dollar coins, until the pulled the machines for the cashless ones.  |
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Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
Oops! Sorry Foxwoods Man, Sometimes I mistake or misunderstand things. I apologize. But, from what I heard, the way that the circulation of the half is going, there is about a 10 year supply of halves, currently (There is also a 10 year suply of dollar coins as of now, which may change if they scrap the $1 bill) And I was also told that, when the Federal Reserve runs out of circulation halves, they will likely mint more. And as I said, if we scrap our pennies as well, we should try to adapt to getting the half back into curculation, as some people have argued "Get rid of some of the lower denomination coins (penny, nickel) and make room in cash registers for larger denomination coins (halves, dollars) But since the Mint is still minting collector halves, I don't see why they wouldn't mint more circulation halves as needed. (However, strangely enough, I don't see 2013 halves for sale on the U.S. Mint's website yet. Maybe they already "did" quit making halves?)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
927 Posts |
I for one love to spend to half dollars every chance I get. I always have a few in my pocket. But there are very few vending machines that accept them. I doubt this is going to change. Without demand the mint will not make more than a few million for collectors each year. It would be very nice to see a special design (or more) for the 50th anniversary, but this is unlikely to happen. When the Lincoln cents were proposed for 2009, it was several years ahead of the actual year. My guess is the mint will do a special set in 2014 with a couple different finishes and maybe mint marks, but that will be it. Too bad.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1255 Posts |
Fox,
The mint did not stopping making halves this year. The 2013 half has already been sold in the "Birth Year Set" on 1/15. The half will also be in the uncirculated sets, date TBD. On 4/30 a proof version from SF will be in the Happy Birthday Set. On 5/2 it will be in the annual proof set. And lastly it will be offered in bags and rolls on 6/13. Safe to say there will be plenty of halves being minted this year.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
613 Posts |
If any CCF members live in Massachusetts, I would say write to your congressional rep and your two Senators suggesting the commemorative half for 2014, that it would be "shameful" for the Great State of Mass to not honor its favorite son, etc etc. That's how things can get done. We all know how fast the original JFK half got into production. It's not too late.
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Moderator
United States
189142 Posts |
I know it does not align with the age of the Half Dollar series, but JFK would have been 100 in 2017.
It seems more appropriate to celebrate the anniversary of birth rather than the anniversary of death. However, the 1999 George Washington gold commemorative five dollar coin has set a precedent for the latter.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
730 Posts |
In the Coin World Weekly Update I received in my email yesterday they said that there would be 7 variations of the Kennedy half released in 3 special sets to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the original coin. All of these coins are to have obverses with the deeper reliefs on the original '64 coin. First physical release of two of the sets o occur August 5th to 9th at the ANA World's Fair of Money in Rosemont, IL (too far for me). The first set is a 2 coin uncirculated set with P and D mint marks. The second set is a .9999 gold approx. 3/4 ounce coin with 1964-2014 dual dates. The final set (which will apparently NOT be available at the ANA show consists of 4 coins minted in .900 silver. A proof with P mintmark, Reverse Proof with a W mintmark, Enhanced Uncirculated with an S mintmark, and an uncirculated coin with a D mintmark. No details as to price, mintage limits (if any) how or when to order if you don't go to the ANA show. Unless they have mint to demand limitations (i.e. no limit) this is going to be crazy, especially after the baseball coins fresh in everyone's memory. |
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Moderator
United States
189142 Posts |
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Posted 03/18/2013 08:36 am
