Ways Of Finding Coins for Anything

Nov 2nd, 2009

Only coin collectors know about this; but you can still find 40% silver-clad half dollars in circulation today. Here is how.

Go to banks or savings and loan companies, and buy rolls of halves at $10.00 each. Buy as many as you can afford, the more you buy the more you stand to find. Take them home and check them. Keep all halves made before 1971.

U.S. silver dimes, quarters, halves and dollars minted in 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. Then Kennedy half dollars of 1965 through 1970 have a 40% silver content. The 1970 half dollar was not released for public circulation, so any specimen of it would be a mishandled collector’s coin or one which had accidentally been placed in circulation. A coin-collection is stolen and the coins are just spent as regular coins, especially by teenagers who do not know their numismatic value. Sometimes these teenagers just snitch a coin or two and go for a malted at the local drug store or malt shop. So always watch all your coins.

These 1970 half dollars command a sizeable premium.

Half dollars after 1970 have no silver in them with the exception of the proof and mint sets (which were not put into circulation - they were for collectors only.)

I have been a coin collector since 1964 and over all I have made money at it - however I collected, bought and sold everything.

I still find 40% silver halves, and once in a great while I find a 90% half. In addition to the banks and the savings and loan companies, I make it a habit to stop at small town banks, and especially country stores and ask them if they can or will sell me some half dollars. Usually they will.

Every time I make a purchase at any store, I ask them if they will sell me some or all the half dollars in their till. Most businesses are glad to get rid of them. No one wants to handle them any more. They all use quarters for making change.

Roll up all the halves that have no silver content and return them to the bank. Cash them in or trade them for more rolls or use them to buy groceries or other merchandise.

So keep at it and don’t get discouraged when you go through several rolls and don’t find any… The law of averages will even it up for you.

If you would like to join the most enjoyable and profitable hobby int he world, visit your local coin shops and attend some coin clubs, and coin shows. You should purchase a copy of A Guidebook of United States Coins, what the coin collector calls the RED BOOK.

A Simple Formula For Recognizing American Coins

Which Are Worth More Than Their Face Value
Remember the year 1933 for 1 cent coins
Remember the year 1945 for 5 cent coins
Remember the year 1964 for 10 cent and 25 cent coins
All coins minted in those years or before are worth more than their face value.
All $1 coins, regardless of the year in which they were minted, are worth more than their face value.