Question for all HISTORY experts on AG CRH?

[Dozer D]

We all know that 90% silver coins were produced on dimes quarters halves thru 1964, but then only 40% silver production from 1965-1969 on halves. Question, why weren't 40% AG produced on dimes and quarters, same as the halves. Or, to phrase it another way, why was 40% silver produced at all. Comments please on this.
Do you realize how difficult it would be to detect 40% dimes and quarters.

 

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[GB1]

a whole lot easier to find silver that is sure

 

[enamel7]

Because the Kennedy half was new and they didn't want just one year of silver. I believe they felt people would collect them more if they contained some silver. Look what happened after 1970, no one wants them!

 

[Poor Mans Gold]

Also, the government wanted silver to still be in circulation. The price of silver back then was about $2.18. A 40%er had only about 32 cents of silver. They were not being hoarded.

 

[Diver_Down]

There was a confluence of events that spelled the end of silver in our circulation coinage. You have to understand circulating coinage prior to the Kennedy half and realize that the half dollar was the workhorse of circulating coinage. Nowadays, due to the hoarding that occurred, society has grown accustomed to the quarter as being the workhorse and the sight of a half dollar is treated as a novelty. But I'm getting ahead of the reason or answer to your question.

First - Silver price was increasing. It lead to the hoarding of all silver coinage in 64 causing a coin shortage.
Second - The assassination of Kennedy whom was an incredibly popular president not just in the US but abroad. Within days of Kennedy's death, the Mint began the process of design of the half dollar despite not having authorization by Congress. Congress must authorize any design change within 25 years of any prior design change. As we know, Franklin had not been on the half dollar for a long enough tenure where authorization was not needed. Unprecedented at the time, but Jackie Kennedy was critical in the input. She didn't want Kennedy to be remembered for replacing Washington, and the dollar had not been minted for many decades so the half dollar was chosen. Legislation approving the change was submitted in early December and by the end of December, legislation was passed. (The fastest that Congress has ever done their job). With the design already underway and the approval in place, minting began in Denver in January.

There was an anticipated demand, but no one anticipated the overwhelming demand. The Treasury did not release the half dollar coinage until what they thought was a sufficient supply to satisfy demand. Keep in mind that even though Kennedy was going to be commemorated on the half, the government wanted it to be a circulating commemorative. They presumed the half would continue to be the workhorse of commerce. At the end of March, the Kennedy half was released to the public. They sold out within hours increasing the speculative secondary market value. Everybody wanted a Kennedy half. The mint thought 91 million would be sufficient to satisfy demand, but had to increase the target to 141 million. All the while, silver market value was increasing causing all silver coinage to be hoarded causing a shortage not just for those seeking out a Kennedy commemorative. By November, there was 160 million Kennedy halves minted yet they never showed up in circulation. The politicians at the time were ignorant of the silver market and blamed collectors for the coin shortage. They bought into the theory that if more '64 dated coinage was produced that it would over saturate the collector market and solve the shortage. Congress had authorized the minting of '64 dated coinage to continue into 1965 for all denominations. Hence, the ridiculous mintage totals for '64 halves, quarters, and dimes.

This increase mintage didn't diminish the hoarding causing the coin shortage and the Treasury's stockpile of silver was quickly dwindling. In June of '65, the dime contained over 9 cents of silver. Pointing to the increase in silver market, the Coinage Act of '65 was passed in July. But politicians being politicians, they still needed their boogeyman - coin collectors. Clad was approved for all denominations, but their was push-back on the Kennedy half as it was deemed an unfitting memorial for the late Kennedy to be depicted on a non-silver issue. The silver clad was approved as it still had a silvery appearance, but reduced the content. The clad coinage was supposed to solve the shortage and it did. But despite the government wanting the half to return to it's prominence in the circulating coinage, the silver clad was still hoarded. All the while, the other denominations returned to circulating. Some years had passed where the public became accustomed to not seeing a circulating half dollar and got used to using the quarter as the workhorse. Finally, the silver clad was eliminated. But by this point in time, the half had fallen out of favor as a circulating coin.

 

[GB1]

that story was pretty interesting thanks for sharing

 

[Dozer D]

DiverDown: thanks for the inside scoop on the subject. Had never gotten the full story, until your input. Big THANKS.

 

[Diver_Down]

DiverDown: thanks for the inside scoop on the subject. Had never gotten the full story, until your input. Big THANKS.

No problem. I didn't mention it in my response as it didn't pertain to the immediate question. But the Coinage Act and the politicians boogeyman - coin collectors are the reason why mintmarks were eliminated from coinage for '65, '66, and '67. Their logic was by eliminating the mintmark, then collectors would not be able to distinguish where a coin was minted and would discourage them from collecting.