Halves: What to keep besides silver?

[apush]

Hello All,
I have a few questions concerning non-silver halve keepers. Some of my thoughts/questions are based from the Red Book:

1. Should I keep the 1987s?
2. I see that the 1986P has a higher Red Book value than say, the 1987s. Keeper?
3. I still don't get the "Not issued for Circulation" statement. I understand the meaning behind the phrase, but not how it applies. If a coin is NIFC, then why do we find so many in boxes, etc. How those coins are distributed might be a better way to ask.
4. Also, the Red Book lists Date, Mintage, such as:
1961 . . . . (3,028, 244) . . . 8,290,00
What does the number refer to in the ( )?
5. I look for the 1974-D error, but no luck thus far. Any other error dates?

Thank you for any responses,
Still learning the ropes!
apush

 

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[fistfulladirt]

Early on in my roll hunting start, I filled the Whitman '64 to X Kennedy folder, including the '87D and '70D, right off the get-go. I would probably keep any '87 I found because of low mintages. I don't keep any NIFC, although they are worth 50 cents. They probably make it into circulation from dumped collections.
Good luck hunting! ffd

 

[jim4silver]

1. I keep the perfect looking 1987 coins. Many are scratched, etc, and they go back into the wild.

2. That is up to you. Try going into your local coin store with a 1986 P and tell them you would like to sell it for what the red book listed it for. After they get off the floor from laughing at you, they will most likely tell you that they do not have any demand for said coin from the public and will not buy it from you. I have tried this exercise with a really nice 1974D double die and some BU rolls of coins (non-silver Kennedys), and they didn't want them. In other words, they didn't say the coins were not "worth" what they list for, but that they (the coin dealers) had no need for the coins. But, having said all this, perhaps you can sell them on ebay (which I have never tried personally).

3. The NIFC coins were only available by purchasing them from the mint. Many collectors buy coins from the mint, however, when their children or others inherit or steal the coins from the collector (who may or may not still be alive) the coins get dumped at the bank. Mint and proof sets get broken open all the time as it seems. Many later year NIFC halves could be purchased from the Mint by the bag (I don't remember how many were in said bags but it is a decent amount) so any particular collector might have bought up several.

4. The number in the parentheses are for proof coin mintages.

5. I don't know the answer to this but I am sure others here do.


Jim

 

[Argentium]

Apush, Good morning to you ! As far as non silver collectibles , You will occasionally find ,
a large (half dollar sized) foreign coin , most likely a British large penny - I found a nice 1915
of King George V. last winter- it was on the end of the roll too . I personally have no appetite
for any - non silver "nifc" halves - I will pull an attractive impaired proof on occasion - but
I usually end up spending these too . Unless you are building a complete year , date, mint ,
set of halves , I see no real reason to save non silver "nifc". There are a ton of people on
this site , who insist that non silver "nifc" are "the cat's pajamas" - I beg to differ ! Argentium.

 

[timbobwey]

82 halves you want to check the reverse side for the FG. I've found 7 this year, in MS 65 they are worth about 40 dollars. Some of the one's I've found have been in great shape.

 

[endthefed13]

Apush,
NIFC's are not intended for circulation because the mint does not ship them
to district Federal Reserve Banks or smaller bank branches for further distribution. If someone wants to get them (2002 and forward) they must deal directly with the Mint and buy them (by the roll) for a slight premium over face value. This means that every time you find an NIFC, it was probably bought by a collector from the mint, and then returned for face value. They are so common because people are figuring out that just because they are NIFC, they are still clad/copper and really only worth 50 cents. So collectors are just returning them to banks. This is why we see so many of them. I saved one of each date of the NIFC's, but the rest I give as tips at restraints. I really wouldn't keep all the NIFC's, because it will be difficult to find someone who will pay more than 50 cents for them.

Also this number (3,028,244) Is the number of proof coin strikes for that year.
Whereas the number (8,290,000) is just the total number of coins minted (including the proofs). If you take the proof number and subtract it from the total mintage number, this will give you the number of business strikes for that year.

Hope that helps.

 

[CHAINCHOMP]

1. errors
2. nifc's
3. proofs
4. 1970/1987 halves
5. commems
6. 1982/3 no fg halves
7. rainbow toned coins
8. rotated die coins (included in errors, but thought i would mention it seperately cuz i always keep an eye out 4 those)
9. coins w/ holes in them (i do, so @ the endo f year i can post and say how many i got, then release 'em into the wild again)
10. gold/platenum platted coins (some keep 'em, some dont)
11. watch 4 double headed coins
12. trick/hallow etc. halves
13. foreign coins
14. BU coins
15. some like to fill up a set of every year/mm, been there done that
thats pretty much it.......good luck, and hh.

 

[golden silver]

I have tried to find AU examples of every year to present day. The 90's are pretty easy but the 70's and 80's can be a challenge worth taking on. I look for any and all commems wether clad or silver.

Golden Silver

 

[Silverminer]

Apush

I found a website that may give you a few more halves to keep.
This is a link to Kennedy Half errors.
http://www.numismedia.com/coinguys/top50kenn.shtml

They also list other coin errors.
Cheers!