Future Of Kennedy Half Dollars

2017 should be the end of the half: pair it with a commemorative dollar for a big send off to mark JFK's Centennial, have a new reverse or something with the half, then retire the coin. Alternatively, ALL the coins should get a consistent new makeover, remove actual people (don't say "Presidents", that'll just rile up a constituent group or political party) from our coins and go back to some artistic, allegorical design where there is consistency among all the coinage. Oh yeah, and one design per coin! At least for a decade or too!

I like that idea.


Because it would be too confusing for our populace and create another competition.

However, either one of those is preferable to the cloth notes we have now. I am all for giving polymer a try, but with all those dollar coins sitting in storage, I see no reason to start a second experiment.

Kill the one dollar note and start issuing those coins. The whiners can only whine so long.

Although I love Kennedy halves, I think it's the time to retire them. They're bulky and a lot of machines, espically vending machines, usually don't take them. However, I think they should keep them in mint/proof sets. They would be so incomplete without them. :)

Let's have a new had design with Liberty on it. But hire an engraver with a good eye like we had back when the walker was made.




No problem - ever see what Annie Oakley could do to a large cent? And those sell for a lot more than a penny now!



Hmmm... maybe true! But...c'mon now... its fun to make a joke, but there was no legit answer to the suggestion. Direct answer averted once again.

Let's all stand back and pretend we are on Vulcan.



Right now the only people dissatisfied with the system are those who nicely, gently, kindly, and lovingly keep reminding us that everyone does not hold dollar coins in similar high esteem.

In other words, they are in an unhappy state, and when rejecting a solution to let everyone have their own preference (and a viable one for lowering costs of production), they would rather just have their own way, have no problem with others being forced to comply, and have no problem everyone else would be unhappy.

I am for making everyone happy - do BOTH.

Irrational emotions seem to be entering the formula in a big way.

This is a typical situation counselors run into. We are all guilty of it at some time in our lives - pointing a big finger at myself also.

Or since the old system worked well for so long... devalue and use it again. It still leaves us with more coins to collect and people might actually start to use the half again like they used to when it had buying power and you did not need carry more than one.

While I don't disagree with regards to purchasing power, the reason it makes sense to kill the Half and not the quarter is that quarters are still used extensively in commerce. I'm almost 40 and I haven't ever got a half dollar in change. Not once.

If we could start over, 10c/50c/$1/$5 coins make the most sense to me. Quarter has always seemed like odd amount anyway. 2 dimes and a nickel aren't any bigger. I can carry 4 dimes as easy as I can a quarter, nickel and dime. 100 years ago, you could buy lunch with a dime. Would be cool to be able to drop 2 coins on the counter and buy a sandwich and chips.

I see no problem with the mint making non-circulating coins as long as it isn't operated at a cost to the taxpayer. If I was in charge, I think 50th anniversary and all the special coins would have been a good way to end it and just focus on better commemorative designs for NIFC halves. But if people still want Kennedy halves and will pay enough to cover their cost, then what's the harm?

I wanted a four coin Kennedy half series with a redesigned reverse four times last year (2014) for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy half (1964-2014) and in 2015, a new permanent reverse for another 50 or so years, but the U.S. Mint didn't do it, and I can't understand why not, and also, why they have not redesigned the reverse of the dime yet, either. Whether or not it was due to lack of circulation should not matter. The half should have been redesigned in 2014, but now hopefully for 2017 for Kennedy's 100th birthday. Maybe they were waiting for that? I hope so.

If halves are ever discontinued, I don't think they should still be in mint/proof sets anymore. Those sets are to offer circulation example of the circulating coins. If the half isn't in circulation then it shouldn't be in the sets. (Look at the Canadian sets, the cent there is no longer made and it' no longer in sets.)

As for the comment about quarters, I am a cashier and you'd be surprised at the low income people who pay with a big handful of quarters and those who don't like carrying a ton of change.