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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,320 |
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Pillar of the Community
527 Posts |
1. Why did the US Mint discontinue the Half Dime in 1973, and why did they choose to discontinue it 7 years after the nickel was introduced in 1866? 2. What is the metal composition of a Half Dime, aside from silver of course? 3. Do coin shops sell Half Dimes in bulk quantities? What I mean is I want to buy one as a novelty or whatnot, but I'm not looking to spend $50+ for one in very good shape. 4. How much do Half Dimes go for? |
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Pillar of the Community
 527 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
you can find metal comp on the CCF Coin Factsthey were 89-90% silver with the other 10-11% copper |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
751 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
1)Nickel and silver 5 cent coins were minted concurrently but it was completely illogical as was the minting of both nickel and silver 3 cent coins. US coinage was reformed with the passage of the Act of 1873 which eliminated some of the redundancies and modified the weight of minor silver coins. 2) http://www.coincommunity.com/us_half_dimes/3)I have never seen a shop with bulk Half Dimes, even low quality examples sell for more than silver value. 4)$5.00-$1.32 million(1792 Half Disme SP-67), but you can find many for under $30. Edited by biokemist6
09/18/2011 11:27 pm
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Valued Member
United States
466 Posts |
For a bust Half Dime graded good I'd say you can pick one up for around 30 dollars far cry from 50 but I don't think you will get one for melt or anything like that if that is your hope |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Half Dimes are rather uncommon at most coin shows but they are there. Worn ones in about G-4 can be found for anywhere from $10 and up. Due to the excessively low mintages, many, many less than 1 million, they are just not a common coin. Why did they discontinue them? Not sure but since so small, possibly to many complaints. And I don't think anyone, anywhere sells them in Bulk quantities. Lucky to find one at a time. It is odd that so few were made and yet the prices are not that excessive. As an example at a coin show last Sunday a dealer I was talking to had 3 tables of coins and not one Half Dime. Doesn't mean much since he specializes in Buffalo nickels with over 1 table for those. Now here is an interesting note. In a Whitman Catalog there is no mention of Albums or Folders for Half Dimes. And that is for Whitman, United States coins and Harris products.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
I managed to snag a holed Half Dime for melt (around $1) several months ago, but mostly they are going to run more then that. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
I have a couple holed/cull Seated half dimes that I think I got out of our local coin shop's bargain box when I was a kid. Didn't really know anything about them at the time. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
During the Civil War all of the silver coinage disappeared from circulation. Even after the war ended coins were still hoarded or exported so in 1866 the nickel five cent piece was introduced as a TEMPORARY measure. The base metal content would allow it to stay in circulation because the metal value was well below the face value. It was an immediate success because it stayed in circulation, and it's larger size made it much more convenient to handle than the Half Dime. The Half Dime was continued because the government still felt that the five cent coin should be a silver coin, and it was planned that it would eventually take over for the nickel. In 1873 when the coinage was reformed and the coinage laws recodified, the Half Dime was dropped because the people preferred the larger coin, and it would also allow the government to redeem the fractional currency using cheaper base metal coinage rather than the more expensive silver. |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,320 |
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Posted 09/18/2011 10:41 pm
