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 Replies: 16 / Views: 12,670 |
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New Member
United States
23 Posts |
Reading several threads in this forum, I've seen mention of NIFC's. My pea brain thinks, "Not Intended For Circulation". Close?
So, I've been roll searching halves for a few weeks, just to fill holes in my folders.
I know of 40%ers and even Benjamins. I look closely for those, but I've never known about NIFC's.
What exactly are they. How do I discern them. And, what are they worth?
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
You are correct "Not intended for circulation". Half dollars recently were only produced for proof and mint sets. EDIT - Also, coins produced only for collectors, like the current Presidential dollars. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Business strike half dollars have been NIFC since 2002, only to be sold in bags and rolls by the Mint. Mintages used to be 30-40 million per year for P and D combined but now it is 4-5 million with no circulation and limited sales at a premium price. Some collectors or dealers will buy a bag or rolls, pick out the best examples for grading and/or selling, and then dump the rest at a bank or into circulation. Other NIFC half dollars would be classic silver commemoratives and modern clad commemoratives in addition to proofs.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
Check out this link https://goccf.com/t/167875&whichpage=2#1548428The NIFC's are 1987 and anything past 2001. Also the 1970's are all 40% and NIFC. Edit: Maybe I'm confusing key dates for NIFC but those are the ones I'm still looking for. Edited by ASLAN TVorlon
01/30/2014 11:54 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5208 Posts |
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The NIFC's are 1987 and anything past 2001. Also the 1970's are all 40% and NIFC. 1970D is mint set only and 40% silver which causes a trifecta of rarely to never found. 1987 P & D were mint set only rarely found but not unheard of. Modern NIFC halves are available in mint sets and bags and rolls which is why they are more commonly found. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8137 Posts |
It can also mean "not issued for circulation" (that's what I think of it as) but you have the right idea.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
NIFCs are: Proof coins of all denominations All bullion coins and silver commemoratives SBA dollars: 1981 P/D Sacagawea dollars: 2002-2007 Half Dollars: 1970-D, 1987 P&D, 2002-Present P&D President Dollars: 2012-Present NIFC coins (except for the '70-D half dollar) don't fetch much premium, but lots of collectors like to keep them as a novelty. Personally I've found a small handful of Halves 2002-2009, plus the '87-D half and a few escaped proof coins. Most NIFC coins are worth about $1-2 in reasonably good shape (AU or BU), and face value if they've been beat up. |
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Valued Member
Canada
258 Posts |
I didn't realize the Sacagawea dollars were NIFC. I got five of them once in change when I was purchasing a train ticket from Newark International to Penn station. Being a Canadian who is used to circulating dollar coins I spent them on the trip. Luckily since then someone has given me one which is a nice consolation. It would be cool is Americans adopted $1 coins because it is more convenient than bills. Every time I visit the States I end up with a wallet full of ones. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
Wonderfully comprehensive list there Finn235  thanks for it. Another dumb question is how do you tell they are from proof's if they are not silver? S mint mark helps with ID sometimes, my 2000-S JFK is a proof. I thought I read something about the reeding being sharp on proofs and cut off or rounded for the non proofs, but how can you tell on a non-reeded coin. I think I have some proof set nickels from '69 and '70 with S mint mark. Sorry no pictures they are in my "hold back 'cus they look nice bin" I just toss in the better looking ones then go back over them and do a mass upgrade instead of checking every nice looking coin as I find it to see if it is an upgrade. They have very crisp rims and lettering, also the bust seems to be a higher relief than other coins of the same era, even other's of the same date/MM. So basically what is a proof and how do you tell? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Depending on the condition of the coin, it's difficult to tell on certain issues. Before the San Francisco mint opened back up in 1968, all proof coins were struck at the Philly mint, so a heavily worn proof would be nearly indistinguishable from a circulation strike with an abnormally strong strike. San Francisco also made circulation strike nickels and pennies from 1968-70 (nickels) and 1968-74 (pennies). Again, there isn't really any easy way to tell the difference between a circulated proof and a business strike for these dates. All S-mint nickels after 1970; pennies after 1974; and all other denominations (except the SBA dollar, 1979/1980) after 1955 are proofs. Also, the Sacagawea dollar doesn't circulate much, but most of the Sac dollars are regular strikes. Nearly 1.5 billion business strikes were made in 2000 and 2001, and those make up the overwhelming majority of circulating Sac dollars. NIFC coins were made from 2002-2008 before they were briefly struck for circulation again from 2009-2011. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
589 Posts |
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before they were briefly struck for circulation again from 2009-2011 There, I disagree with you. The Native American dollars weren't released for circulation, they were initially available for direct purchase through the mint for face with free shipping, and thus there was hope that people would begin to circulate (all) the small dollar coins through such a deal...but that didn't happen. Further, the large numbers minted from 2009-2011, which I've heard people argue indicates they were struck for circulation, was only the legal requirement (20% of all manganese brass dollars needed to be the Native American ones); thus with such high mintages for NIFC coins, unless the mint decided to pawn them off the citizens in some fashion, they would have just ended up like the Presidential dollars being hoarded by the Federal Reserve. For me it's simple... (Modern) Coins intended for circulation are coins that went through the standard channels for circulation: the Federal Reserve orders them from the mint, distributes them amongst the FRB's, and from there are distributed to your local banks directly or via Brinks, Loomis, etc. NIFC are coins that bypass the ordering from the Federal Reserve and enter circulation by any other means (since virtually all NIFC's, except gold and platinum bullion, have specimens that have entered circulation). And that includes the Native American dollars due to their need to be ordered directly from the mint and their unavailability through ANY bank until such time as they are thrown into circulation. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Are they rare where you live? Here (metro Atlanta), they are no more rare than any of the President dollars from those same years. They might not have been released through standard routes, but a high-mintage coin that regularly circulates (compared to other small dollars at least) hardly constitutes a NIFC coin in my eyes.
NIFC coins are only sought after because of their low mintage (1-10 million on average) and difficulty to find in circulation.
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Valued Member
United States
129 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
A pocket full of 50 $1 Sacagawea's any day, over 50 $1 bills in my wallet.
I always carry a pocketful of Sacs when I head out fly-fishing in the heavy stream currents.
When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
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Moderator
Australia
16831 Posts |
I really should point out at this juncture that "NIFC" is purely an Internet coin forum term for coins not intended for circulation and, as far as I can tell, the term was invented right here on CCF - at least, I have not been able to find any usage of it earlier than 2008 anywhere on the Internet but in old archived CCF threads. Since I commented on this in this old thread back in 2008, jbuck's prophecy has pretty much come true - you can now find it used on dozens of forums and blogs, especially amongst the CRH crowd. But out in the offline world, such coins are still called by their traditional acronym: "NCLT" - Non-Circulating Legal Tender. The two acronyms mean the same thing: a coin that was issued nor for circulation, but for collectors only. 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
United States
1234 Posts |
Gotta love it when you are part of creating a word. Rowan Atkinson did a sketch on Not The Nine O-clock News about the mountain gorilla and said the term for a group or them was a 'Flange' like herd or flock. Now that word is actually used to describe a group of gorillas by scientists. I can see how NIFC is a more correct term then NCLT for a coin found in circulation. Non-Circulating implies the coin is not and has never been in circulation, but Not Intended for Circulation implies it was not meant to be in a coin roll but it is.
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Replies: 16 / Views: 12,670 |
Posted 01/30/2014 12:51 am
