And keeping the “fractional dollar” idea in mind, had the Mint made the 50 State program a half-dollar program and the Fed forced the banks to order that way…who knows. But a 50/50 State program (i.e. 50 cents/50 states) might’ve been more interesting at least. But that’s for an alternate universe now 😉

Anyway I don’t recall any particular reasons why the half fell out of use in Canada, except maybe “habit spill-over” from the US. Their half of course didn’t have the same history, plus they’d downsized it to make it less bulky. In any case there’s been a recent proposal to revive the half dollar as part of a broader coinage revision. Now that the cent’s been eliminated the RCM’s looking at whether the 5¢ piece should go as well. Because the quarter isn’t a true decimal denomination it would be replaced by a 20¢ piece and a new 50¢ coin. So far, just speculation though.

Thanks for your reflections on the half dollar. Canada stopped making the half dollar for circulation also about the year 2000. I was born the year before JFK was assassinated, & fast forward to 1976 my father got assigned to a very small NSA base in Bavaria (about an hour bus ride south of Munich) & I was going on 14 yo & was in full collector mode. I was a bit surprised at the time talking with German nationals who worked on our post that they all had at least one roll of Kennedy half dollars due to his famous “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” speech. The very small coin & stamp shop about 2 miles away was run by a young married couple who were both numismatists & in their home (& in many German Catholic homes) they had a framed portrait of JFK next to a portrait of the Pope! I learned quickly of President Kennedy’s impact on the world by that experience & by my two fantastic history teachers at Munich American High School.
I never found a silver half in circulation. It is great that you were at that period of time to see the switchover in the half & fill your albums from circulation!

Happy collecting!

-NumisDudeTX

I was thinking more about half dollars in general rather than the Kennedy design specifically. I started collecting in elementary school – more years ago than I care to admit, but well before 1964 – and at that time halves circulated regularly. I was able to assemble a nearly-complete set of Franklins and about 60% of all Walkers just by going through the change drawer in my grandfather’s store in Philly. However in the grief following the tragedy in Dallas any memento of the late president was snapped up almost immediately, and the new halves were the most accessible of all. Very few showed up in change because they were grabbed as soon as they hit the banks.

Also, there were factors beyond Vegas: When silver was deregulated everything except nickels and cents vanished into melting pots, including halves regardless of design. (I remember my mother complaining about coming home from shopping with a purse full of nickels!) The Mint then made a fatal blunder by continuing the half in clad silver instead of cupronickel; by 1968 the Hunt brothers’ speculation had pushed prices to the point where even 40% halves were worth more than face and the few that were in circulation also disappeared. Even though the Mint finally woke up and changed the half to Cu-Ni clad as well, people had become used to making change with multiple quarters which effectively shut the door on the half.

I have a collector friend from Down Under who told me that they had similar problems with silver halves in the mid-1960s but dealt with it proactively by replacing them with Cu-Ni coins almost immediately. People didn’t have time to change their habits and the denomination continues to circulate, albeit not as widely as some others.

The only place I ever saw Kennedy half dollars “circulate” was on my 14 trips to Las Vegas over a 12 year period in the 1990s & early 2000 (I am NOT an addictive gambler & it never appealed to me till my best female friend convinced me it would be “fun” & I fell for it & it was fun watching my money disappear in slot machines! Like a 1-armed bandit magician taking my money LOL). But by that time period there were only a few 50-cent slots in the casinos as the $1 slots are the most popular. Once they got rid of them, they no longer ordered half dollars from their district Fed bank & 2001 was the last year they were released for circulation. Vegas killed that circulating coin denomination almost single handedly.

-NumisDudeTX

That said, maybe it’s time for a new design on a smaller coin that would return the denomination to regular use. We’re down to only three functional denominations; certainly a more-practical sized 50¢ piece would cut down on the flood of quarters filling cash registers.

Seth,
Where can I get the Magical Congress coin with the Eagle GILDED in 24k? I saw it briefly but lost it when I hit the wrong button. I would appreciate your help. Thank you.
DrWho7

-NumisDudeTX