Anyone here know anything about (specifically US) coins? Specifically half dollars. I never see any (and on the rare occasion I do it's usually dated to the eighties). So I'm just wondering, at some point did we stop making them? And if so, when was that? ---------- Post added 28th Jan 2013 at 07:31 PM ---------- Found out they do indeed still make them (actually made as consistently as any coin but the penny), why then can I never find them.
I always assumed nobody liked to use them. If you ask for some at a bank I'd bet they have a few. Same with gold dollars.
Your currency is annoying. When I went to Orlando on holiday, I seemed to end up with a wallet stuffed to bursting with one dollar notes, and a pocket weighted down with quarters - how do you guys cope :eek:
l've seen like 3 in my lifetime and that was while working as a cashier. l dunno lol. ---------- Post added 28th Jan 2013 at 05:39 PM ---------- part of it must be that you're never really going to get one back as change, no cashiers really reserve a seperate compartment in the register for them and just throw them to the side somewhere when they do get them.
Whenever I get a half dollar I keep it most recent one I have is 2009 same goes for silver dollars (much more rare) If I wanted gold dollars...Instead of paying exact amount, I could just put in a larger bill next time I needed to take the 'train' into the city (it only gives change in coins)
I'm not sure about the American half dollar but Canada had a regular circulation 50 cent piece that people hardly come across in day-to-day transactions. It wasn't minted in a huge quantity compared to the other denominations but it was by no means rare and yet people seem to hold on to them thinking they might be worth more than 50 cents. Part of it might also be, as mentioned above, almost nobody has a separate spot for half dollars in their till and therefore they never get given back as change. Most vending machines won't accept them. I think mostly it's from people hoarding them, which I am guilty of. The very rare time I come across one in my till, I'll usually trade it for a couple of quarters. I would imagine this is probably the same reason that the American half dollar coin is rarely encountered. EDIT: I had a strange idea about a year ago that I'd request a bunch of rolls of 50 cent coins from the mint or the bank and use them in every day transactions here and there just for fun. Not that one person would could ever signifigantly alter the circulation of a coin but at least it might brighten someone's day when they come across one. It turns out after this brilliant idea I went to the mint's website and they now only produce them in limited quantities to collectors and such, so that pretty much ruined my plan.
The one-dollar notes confuse me the most. You can have a wad of cash that's hardly worth anything at all! I remember an American tourist getting pissed at me for trying to give her change in coinage. She was explaining how she always forgets to spend coins and ends up with a ton left over, and won't I PLEASE give her bills instead. It was hard to patiently explain that her change was less than five dollars, and there haven't been two-dollar bills for nearly twenty years. She was not impressed, she said that's a stupid system. ...on that note, American tourists: a) apart from the 1- and 2-dollar coins, ours look nearly the same as yours. You shouldn't need help figuring them out. b) don't get angry if you're told a business doesn't take American, they have no obligation to do so, and none of yours take Canadian. c) feel free to use American change in Canada. We can't be bothered to keep it separate from ours, so we don't care. Even the banks mix them--it would cost more than it's worth to ship it all back to you.
plastic my friend, plastic. The only time I carry cash is when I go down to the gay club :icon_roll whoops did I just say that.
Simply LOL there ... maybe people should take some time to learn alittle ... before visiting another country? People seriously just expect that? :eek: :lol: the times I've been in Canada I always had Canadian cash...or paid with a creditcard.
My dad and I collect coins casually, but I can't say I've ever come across a half dollar in circulation before. Also, I don't like 1 and 2 dollar/euro/pound coins. Coins just weigh my wallet down, and they're much easier to lose. That said, I like the way the euro does denominations for coins less than a dollar: Basically no pennies, and replace quarters with 50 and 20 cent coins so change is easier to count out.
Why do you see so few 2 dollar bills? Because a couple one dollar bills are not much harder to use and more versatile. Quarters are generally more functional because you hardly ever have just one, whereas 50-cent pieces are used for very specific purchases.
I agree. I think 1 dollar bills and quarters function pretty well with our pricing system. Although, I find money annoying. (Yes, I've been to a few other countries and their currencies annoyed me just as much which leads me to believe I find money in general irritating). I only carry one twenty dollar bill for emergencies. Besides that, I only use my card. It is safer than cash anyway
Oh that's nothing: the Uzbek Som goes beyond wallets. Its biggest note (1000 som) is worth about 20p on the black market and you really do have to resort to rucksacks to carry money around. This is $1200 dollars split into $600 dollars and 1.68 million Som. It's not even as if this country has experienced hyperinflation or anything, they just haven't bothered to make bigger notes for some inexplicable reason.
