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 Replies: 23 / Views: 5,955 |
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Valued Member
 Canada
159 Posts |
nice coin. I wonder why it never really became main stream.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
A couple of reasons, both based on wrong perceptions:
(1) A mistaken belief that 50 Cent pieces are "rare". If you tender one at a purchase in a store, what happens to it? Usually the till person who receives it will buy it and put it away at home.
(2) The previous school of thought that they are too heavy/big to use conveniently. Of course, with the loonie and toonie in circulation, this has proven to be false, but the time of the coin having any real usefulness as a circulation coin has passed.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1000 Posts |
Here's another one for your viewing pleasure...  |
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Valued Member
Canada
159 Posts |
Marq, nice picture! Wow, unicorns on Canadian coins!
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Valued Member
Canada
159 Posts |
what a coincidence! My girlfriend and I are planning on moving and while I was going through my book closet I found a 2002- 50 cent coin in a small zip-lock bag. My g/f was telling me that she got it from a friend from work. This coin is in great condition and has its original luster on both sides of the coin.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
965 Posts |
The 50-cent coins are no longer produced for circulation, so as stated above, you will need to purchase direct from the mint, or from a dealer. From time to time, however, banks will get a few and I've found that they are very happy to part with them. It is pretty rare to find them, even in the banks, though, but keep trying, make friends with a teller, and he/she will likely hold onto them for you.
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New Member
Canada
34 Posts |
It's interesting that you say that banks are very happy to part with them, I say this because I recently went to a bank and the teller refused to sell me one of the 50-cent coins they had on hand.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
10743 Posts |
legion, a teller, can't refuse you a .50 cent coin. It is still legal tender! If, you give her fifty cents, I would think she has to sell it to you.  |
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New Member
Canada
34 Posts |
That's what I thought, but he had said to me "I can't sell you this one because its made of silver". I had only seen the obverse of the Queen's head by that I could tell that it was from anywhere between 1953-1964
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1000 Posts |
What a joke! I am sure the teller would have accepted a silver 50c from a unenlightened customer. But refuses to release it because why? He plans on buying it at the end of the day for 50 cents.  I reminds me of a time I went to a bank here in the United States. I asked the teller if I could withdraw the $300 in rolled halves they had available. The head teller was walking buy and said to me, don't waste your time, what you are looking for is not in there. I stopped going to that branch because I realized the head teller was a roll hunter.  |
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Valued Member
Canada
159 Posts |
"I can't sell you this one because its made of silver"... I knew it, banks keep any silver they find.
I bought 2 boxes of quarters last week and there were at least 4 rolls in American quarters in the boxes. I found six 1967 American quarters; I would never find six 1967 Canadian quarters in 5 boxes, let alone 4 rolls.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
598 Posts |
Quote:
I found six 1967 American quarters... You are aware US silver(.900) ended and includes 1964?  Quote:
... 4 rolls in American quarters... However, with the exchange rate what it is, the US quarters are well worth it.  |
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Valued Member
Canada
159 Posts |
IBG, what I meant was... finding 1967 American quarters are easier to find than 1967 Canadian quarters. the 67 US quarter doesn't have Silver; the 67 Canadian quarter has the silver, so you kind of get a sense that there should be about the same amount of 67 CND quarters, but there is not, due to the silver content. So, yes I am aware of the Silver found in the 1964 US quarters, I made sure I checked them out. :)
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Moderator
 Australia
16850 Posts |
Quote:
I wonder why it never really became main stream. Given the well-worn specimens one can find in dealer's shelves, it's obvious they used to circulate, back when all coins were silver. Nowadays, when nobody cares about the intrinsic value of the metal in coins, convenience is the main concern. I suspect the main reason why 50¢ coins lost favour in Canada and the US is because of your quarters (sorry, 25¢ coins). If you want to give 50¢ in change, it's almost as easy to hand over two quarters as it is to hand over one 50¢. And changing a dollar only needs four quarters, which isn't too much less convenient than two 50¢. In countries such as Britain, Australia and the Eurozone with a "true decimal" system, they use 20¢ coins, rather than 25¢. Giving 50¢ in change needs at least three coins of at least two different types, and changing a dollar would need five 20¢ coins. A 50¢ coin is more convenient in this system. My parents lived in Canada for two years from 1970 to 1972. They saw one 50¢ coin the whole time they were there, and kept it. Even this one might have been given to them by a friend as a souvenir; they can't remember. It's in my collection, now.  Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
Vending machines won't take 'em, and never did; as well, most cash drawers don't have a place for them.
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Replies: 23 / Views: 5,955 |
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First Page
Posted 01/02/2009 09:02 am
