Kennedy Half Dollar Question

[szugelder]

Why are newer Kennedy's not in circulation? Wife and I found an album her dad started, (we think), filled it with everything we had, bought two circulated rolls at the bank, and nothing newer than 1994, thanks. 

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum.

Short answer: nobody was using them. My local bank does not even have halves any more. 

[Numismatic, A.A.S.]

Many are also being hoarded, the mint stopped business strikes for circulation that the banks could order in 2006, so from 2007 on up they had to have been purchased from the U.S. Mint for collectors...I've been told it was 2004 also, but I have found in rolls up to 2003 myself...eBay should have every example cheap...they are still produced in millions anyway...Just Bob is correct, one of my banks doesn't even carry them and doesn't want them, if you complain the manager has to say "if you roll them properly we will accept for a deposit but no cash withdrawing for 24 hours" as if it's the plague or a scam? Go figure...

[Six Mile Rick]

WELCOME!!

 I have pretty much all the dates. Some are a little tougher to find in nice grades but I have found and kept the best looking ones from mint sets and rolls.

2005 to 2010 dates that I have were found in special mint produced rolls for collectors. Do not confuse 2005 - 2010 SMS mint set halves with 2005 - 2010 business strike coins. They are not the same coins.

[Conder101]

The mint made halves for circulation in 2001 but demand was so low that only some of I believe the D's were distributed,  After that the mint stopped making them for circulation and starting in 2002 they were only available in rolls or small bags purchased directly from the mint.  The Mint also recovered the 2001 coins still held by the Fed and made up rolls of those for sale as well (20 million 2001 halves were struck and they had those rolls on sale for YEARS.).  There is a chance that the mint also made 2017 halves for circulation.  One person has gotten a full box of bank wrapped rolls from the bank.  The odds of that being the result of a collector dumping searched coins purchased from the mint is vanishingly small, also the mintage of the 2017 coins is something like four or five times the typical mintage of the other non-circulating dates.  As far as I know though there has been nothing said officially that they were making them for circulation.

[szugelder]

Hey Guys - I appreciate all the feed back and bringing me up to speed on the circulation issues, thanks.

[numisport]

My Kennedy Halves from mint sets since 2008 are mostly high grade probably 68 and better. U.S. Mint served up real high quality mint set coins since 2010 or so and some cents are nearly perfect.

[WoodenJefferson]

The latter years of Kennedys found in circulation are often referred to as NIC's (Not Intended for Circulation)

[coinman1794]

Yes, as has been said, circulation strike Kennedy halves were eliminated in 2002.

[szugelder]

Update: We have everything in the series pretty much pre-1980 with the exception of the 1970 D. We found a 1970 Denver mint set on Ebay reasonably priced so we bought that one and should have it in the next week or so. Anyone here deal with Jeff's Coins on Ebay? He has sets on Kennedy's for sale at a reasonable price so we rolled the dice and bought ten random Kennedy's from the 2000's going forward and twenty random Kennedy's from the 1990's guaranteed to have every year and mint mark.

We'll see what we get...