Gold Kennedy Half....requirement For A Complete Set?

Baby Ruth used int he pool in Caddy Shack was still a Baby Ruth bar, but what reaction did it have? What did people think it was? Just because a " Red Book" or someone else wants to use this gimmick to call it coin, does not mean it is anything other than a gimmick.

When they start sending these to banks that people can get the for 50 cents each as change, THEN it is a coin. Until then it is just some junk collectible item made to commemorate something and make people that collect discs of metal clamor after them.

When EVERYONE off the street can walk into a bank and get one for 40 cents, the face value it has, THEN AND ONLY THEN, is it a coin.

So who wants to sell me one for 50 cents? I will give a 1972 Ike for two of them. Any takers, or is this "thing", not a coin? Someone willing to put their money where their mouth is? Anyone?

Didn't think so, not a coin.

Using the KISS principal, it is a coin when the issuing authority makes it and issues it as a coin whether in commerce or as a collector coin.

This is the snake-oil sales pitch that I don't buy. a coin is money, the thing EVERYONE uses. Well a "collector coin" is not money as it isn't intended to be used as money. it is coin related memorabilia, just like a Dansco album is not a coin, but coin paraphernalia.

How does Coinstar treat the gold Kennedy? I bet it would reject it. How does it treat the Mint tokens that are the size and composition of a cent? It takes them. Neither, however are coins. One is fraud to use, the other is foolish. Money, which coins are, exists for one reason, and one reason only, to spend. Its issuance is for the use to purchase goods or services. Thus collecting coins means those things which are used to purchase goods or services. We no longer have precious metal in coins in ANY country, because the metal value exceeds the issuance value. Any precious metal token made after the world got off the gold standard is just that, a token, not a coin. Just memorabilia.

You can sell your snake-oil elsewhere, cause again, I ain't buying it.

want to go with Keep It Simple, STUPID!




Notice the last part that is key. "used as money".

Again, anyone willing to sell me two of these gold halves or spend them, then I will say it is a coin, but it was NOT issued to be used as money. It is a commemorative token, that is all.

Some people are taking this too seriously. This is a matter of opinion, not a scientific or even moral debate.

Tokens can have a value attached to them in most instances ("Good for 1 car wash" Good for 1 game play"...) but are not coins because they are limited in their use and not normally issued by governments for general use.

Proofs, special issues (like our erstwhile gold Kennedy round) and commeneratives do not fit the definition of "Coins" because they are not intended for use as money. Sure, you can spend that $1200 gold Kennedy and get 50 cents from it but that is not it's intent, thus it is not a coin and should not be considered as such.

Collectors like us however make our own decisions on what to include in our collections. Personally I collect circulation coins as well as a few selected non-coins like proofs and a few commemoratives here and there. I am not gonna spend the big bucks and get a gold Kennedy, I might consider springing for a 1964-2014 issue someday but it will not be considered a coin in my book.

The fact that these rounds are listed in the Red Book do not make them coins.

And, in answer to another post, these gold Kennedy's are not of the same design as real coins. For one they have a dual date, no circulation Kennedy in 2014 has that. In addition they have the mint mark on the rear and there has never been a circulation coin with a "W" mint mark anyway. (96 dimes from West Point were not intended for circulation, a few made it in after being stolen from Dad's collection...). Lastly, how many circulation coins these days do you see that have their weight and fineness listed on them?

Your argument(s) have no merit or substance. Hopefully that is simple enough for you to understand.

If the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the Bureau of the U.S. Mint issues a coin with a face value of any amount, then it is just that, a coin. You may not like it and you may not want to own one but it is still a coin and legal tender in this country.

If someone was to follow your logic or lack there of, then the ½ Cent, Large Cent, Two Cent, Three Cent Silver, Half Dimes or any other denomination or series not still used in commerce today is no longer a "coin" because the ‘Coinstar' machine would reject them. By your standard, even the 1804 silver dollar is not a "coin".

You are the only one here trying to sell "snake â€"oil" and the stuff you are shoveling just aint selling. I can see the news flash now, "According to shadz â€" the One Cent, Nickel, Dime, Quarter and Half Dollar found in the 1950 U.S. Proof sets are not coins."

If you want to give a definition of what a coin is, maybe looking here will help you understand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin You will notice it states, "used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender." "Primarily" but not always.

Getting back to the OP's question, like I said before, it depends on how the collector is building their collection. But to say the 1964 â€" 2014 gold Kennedy half dollar is not a coin is just foolishness and erodes any degree of creditability that the author may have had.

But here is the problem, the Mint doesn't even agree with it's own definition of what the coins are and contradicts itself if your statement is true!

http://www.usmint.gov/faqs/circulat...ulating_coin

These are what coins are legal money.




This supports you, yes; but....




So why is the composition important?




Coinstar would reject both, because coin accepting manufacturers are given the specs for US coins that they take. The composition is what makes it a coin, not a collectible tokem. Yes the 90% Kennedy was a coin, but silver is no longer used in US coins, and it is not something the Mint intends people to use as money anymore than a double eagle. They still authorize and support its face value, but do not consider it a coin. This is why a Silver Certificate can still be spent as money, but no longer allows you to get silver in exchange for it.

We went off the precious metals standard and went to fiat currency. I only have one folder that has the word "coin" and that is the 20th century coin type set. (Not picking on you DCM, just using your example as a proof of concept.)

Also what the US Mint says doesn't mean two spits, considering the 20 cent piece and SBA. The PUBLIC decides what is a coin and what is not by its use. Thus we have the arguments over whether to get rid of the dollar bill in favor of the dollar coin.

A coin is made to be used as money, This is what the English language says. The US Mint does NOT get to control the English language, King George didn't even get to control it else the USA wouldn't even exist. The gold kennedy bearing dual dates is a commemorative medallion, that happens to be back by the US Mint as having a face value as a coin would. Same I guess for proofs (at least from West Point as they have never made circulation coins).

Coins are made at one of 3 Mints in the US, (P,D,S) and S mint stopped making coins during my lifetime, and then are sold to the FRB. Does this gold kennedy go through the FRB? NO, Is it made to be used as money? No.

SO major debate is on whether the thing is even a coin, and that is a good thing to discuss, but the definition of a coin is clear. Whether it belongs in a set was the original question and that falls back onto the individual collectors. If they only collect coins and don't view this thing a coin, then it doesn't. If they only collect bullion and not coins, then should a bullion collector be disallowed to collect the gold kennedy because some want to call it a coin?

tl;dr

It isn't a coin. People have to and get to individually decide if they want to collect it as part of a set. Nobody gets to tell them otherwise; not K&M, not Red Book, not some coin show dealer, not the US Mint. Nobody but the collector gets to decide.