Childhood coin/bank experience

Something I should document..... for the record.
I clearly remember going to the bank with $30 of paper money from odds/ends work.....as a kid. It was 1974....and I was 12 years old. I asked the bank: Could I please have $30 of brand new Half Dollars. The teller said: "No. They would have to put an order in.....to get new Half Dollars". Then she said: "We have rolls of Half Dollars and a few loose ones. Would I like to have any of those?" I said: "Sure". She handed me 3 rolls of Half Dollars...... and I handed her $30 in paper money. (Mostly $5's and $1's). This is when I learned that Half Dollars came in $10 rolls (with 20 Half Dollars in each roll). The teller asked me why I wanted $30 of old, dirty, bulky Half Dollars!
The paper wrappers all looked faded..... and in about the condition of a ragged-out dollar bill. I think the paper wrappers had been used/recycled multiple times.
I was somewhat surprised when I opened the rolls.... and started digging through the dates. One roll was entirely Walking Liberty Half Dollars. The 2nd & 3rd rolls were an identical mix of Walkers....a few Franklins.... a few 1964 Kennedy's..... and a few 1965 - 1969 Silver-Clad Half's. Some of the Walkers were nearly uncirculated 1944, 1946 & 1947 Half Dollars. Quite a few of the Walkers were worn-out/flat teen's Half Dollars.
I was VERY curious "why" the bank(s) had not "turned in" the silver coins.... back to the mint.... in the late 1960's.,.,.,.,., but..... I was NEVER going to "ask" that question!!!
Nobody respected Half Dollars... back in 1974. Nobody cared about them. Even the silver ones were considered old/dirty/unwanted/bulky money. Seems the silver Dimes & Quarters were IMMEDIATELY hoarded; yet, NO ONE cared about Half Dollars!!!

Parting note: ((( IF ONLY I "KNEW"!!!!!! )))

I used to get rolls of half dollars at the bank and would go thru them. I found a few silver Kennedy and quite few silver clad. Didn't get any Walkers or Franklins. That's the only rolls I went thru.

In about 1978, when I was 13 or 14 years old, I read a small article in Numismatic News which said that silver coins were still circulating in Hawaii due to Japanese tourists bringing them back and spending them. When my parents went to Hawaii shortly thereafter, I asked my father to bring me back some coins. He wasn't exactly thrilled with this request, back in the days before luggage had wheels, but agreed to bring me two rolls of half dollars. When my parents returned home, I opened the rolls and found my first ever Walker and Franklin halves, plus numerous 1964 and 40% halves. These rolls were so good that I always wondered if my father had salted them for my benefit, which he denied to his dying day. It's a wonderful memory for me either way.

In 1975..... I spent the 1964's and the silver-clad 1965-1969. (Never found/saw a 1970). In 1976...... I was in a 'pinch'......and spent the Franklin's.
I remember a coin shop in Falls Church, VA that would sell the common date Walking Liberty's for 55-Cents. In fact...... sometimes.....in change.... he would pay you back with the worn common-date Walkers & Franklins! This was in 1974. What confused me was..... the value of silver in those Half Dollars ..... was worth a bit more; yet, the sentiment was: Half Dollars were not the collectable denomination.

In 2002, I placed an ad in the local shopper , for buying silver coins, 3.5x over face. Spent a few grand on that coinage , included buying almost $1000 worth from a fella in his 90's. I still have it, collecting dust, but its still appreciating.

One of the most solid investments!

That silver is up 500% in the last 21 years, my buying power of paper fiat has lost 50-75% of its value or more during that time. Precious metals are doing their job as buying power insurance! 2024 is going to be a great year for the metals.

About 28-Months ago:
$1.xx would buy a gallon of gas. Now it takes $3.xx
A can of corn/peas/beans was $0.69. Now $1.89
A gallon of milk $2.49. Now $4.xx a gallon
A box of cereal $1.79. Now $4.xx a box.
A box of .22 Long Rifle rounds $1.79. Now $4.99.
Eggs? Hmmmmmmmmm!!!!

There's a place in Titusville, Florida where you can buy a loaf of bread for a Dime.....and a gallon of milk for a Quarter. He has held this price for 27-years. Caveat = It must be a SILVER Dime...... and a SILVER Quarter.

Since the Mafia & Federal Reserve had Kennedy killed....... inflation incurred free-reign.

Tom,your grocery prices are right on and even higher.Grocery shopping has always been fun for me and when the guvmint says we have 7--8% grocery inflation this just reinforces my distrust of guvmint.Across the board groceries are up 80--200% and unfortunately most of it is price gouging by the companies--foreign and domestic.

What bothers me is: I have 7 friends ..... unaffiliated to/with each other...... all within the past 14-Months....tell me: "I can no longer make ends meet". These are normal middle class America. (Most are veterans).

FYI = Two things that are NOT included in the Inflation Index:
1. Food
2. Fuel (gas)

Another thing for your consideration... the cost of health care and medications.
My wife in her wisdom (stubbornness), after taking a new job, enrolled us in an insurance policy that costs about 20% of her pay. At the time I told her that I thought it to not be the best choice as we were both healthy and strong. at 60 years old I was as strong as I had ever been. Then one day and just as fast, I wasn't. If not for that insurance policy, we would have lost everything and owed forever.
In the past 14 months, insurance has paid out a little over 5 times the total combined gross income of my entire life. I am currently on one medication where the monthly co-pay is $4500. With the insurance and another program, that co-pay is $0.
Think about what 20% of your salary represents to you. Think about 5 times all the money you ever made, not saved money, but everything you've earned your entire life X5, having to be spent in 14 months. Think about a $4500 monthly co-pay on top of that. All this financial burden and the other choice is death.
Financially I/we are one of the lucky ones. I have met so many who have lost everything, just so they can sit in a chair and get bags of chemicals dumped into their system, in hopes it will benefit them in some way. No amount of planning can ready someone for the choices that so many are going through and have to make. All because of cost.
To put this in perspective and in keeping in the time frame of this thread; a doctor used to make house calls day or night, if needed. Payment sometimes could include a barter of some sort. But then too, what I have was incurable.

WELL stated Scott!!! What a perfect (yet: horrific) example.
Capitalism sure can have its downfalls.

We can only hope/pray for a cure to be discovered for your condition.

Back around 1973/74, I had a job in a grocery store on the cash register. Back then almost everyone paid in cash or check. Several times during my shift, my boss would let me go through the other cash register drawers and take the silver coins out (as long as I replaced them with clad) and keep the silver. I don't remember how much I accumulated but it was a significant amount and a daily treasure hunt for me.

Interesting topic!

I too worked in a grocery store, but not until the late 1980s. By then, most silver had long left circulation. I found a couple in my till, and swapped them out for clad as you did, Okara, but unfortunately I was born a bit too late, in terms of circulation of silver coins.

Steve

okara........ what did you do...... do you still HAVE those silver coins!?

I sold the majority of them in the 80’s to a pharmacist who was buying silver for more than the spot price. If I remember correctly it was at an all time high or close to it at the time I sold. I did keep some of the beautiful Barbers and older nice condition coins I had found metal detecting. Living in Florida now, I sure miss finding those early coins when I lived in NY state.

Sounds like you did very well with those silver coins!
Silver coins are ABUNDANT in Florida..... with St. Augustine being the oldest city in the United States. Problem is...... the sink-rate in this sandbar State..... is horrendous. , . , . , . , especially when considered/compared to other parts of the Country.

Tom… I remember finding 1870’s coins just inches under the ground. Talk about fun!! And that was with old technology detectors such as my Compass 77B or Garrett ADS 7. Pockets full, but back then hardly anyone was metal detecting. I just went to a beach this morning and in the course of 3 hours counted 6 different guys hunting. Things sure have changed.

I think TV shows have REALLY launched groups/batches of new detectorists.

I was born in 52…. So there was still a lot of silver floating around. I think you mentioned it once Tom about the dates of the coins in are pocket being about 20 years old. My uncle got into detecting, had to be very early and his son collected every coin and baseball card he could get his hands on. My uncle is the only guy I know that has two of those rare 1916 dimes. Both found detecting.

Times have really changed…. Gas was 17 to 25 cents a gallon for me as a teen. My first paycheck from a factory was $89 for the week. I’m with you Tom I don’t know how a single person makes it. My mom is 90 this month….. her and my step dads combined income is under $25k a year. Insurance as a whole is taking a huge bite out of most of our incomes…. Then like my son many have college debt.

Dewcon, today 2 silver dimes can buy you a gallon of gas. So gas is still 20c, in the form of REAL money. Crazy, isn't it

Agree with you Tom and I would expand it to say all forms of video, especially YouTube, have brought in beaucoup hordes of newbies. Lack of literacy is no longer a barrier to entry like it was in earlier decades.

When I was about 10 I bought a used bike with some hard-earned change I had saved up. It took a while but eventually I had the required price of $10.00, all silver of course, and bought the bike.
I sure would like to have all that now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2023 01:00PM by PhDtector.

I would have been 9 or 10 years old when I first saw my first clad coin. It was a quarter I got in change at the corner grocery store. I was with a buddy of mine who was also a coin collector and what sticks in my brain was how cool we thought it looked.

If only this Nation could retain some form of a Silver Standard.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If only this Nation could retain some form of a
> Silver Standard.


Some states are trying to legislate the return of gold and silver coin being legal tender -- including NO capital gain on the sale of any gold or silver coin...

That would be a WELCOME development...

Steve

That would be of colossal magnitude. It is of a level of importance.....that is of a order-of-magnitude......that is incomprehensible.


Also................ The mental/sentiment (early 1970's through the 1980's) =
""The silver in those big, bulky Half Dollars was a form of a 'junk' silver........ like German silver. It was not real...... just 'junk' silver""
To this day (self included).... I have NO idea where that (incorrect) thought ever came from!!! Now...... today.......,,,,,,,, we SCREAM to find those silver Half Dollars!

New member have been here a long time never posted just consumed the amount of detecting intelligence. Have Walking liberty's and Franklin's what is the best way to sell. I will contact Garfield refining in PA. Any thoughts. All picked Thru . I pulled few libertys that looked OK.

It used to be e-bay.,.,., but e-bay has become sooooo expensive. And you need to do extra things on e-bay...... just to have your item(s) "show"....when searched for. Now...... I'm not sure what's the best place to sell silver coins. I would still think some form of a World Wide Web-site would be the best idea.

Hey autopilot42, I would hate to see those coins melted.

Send me a PM, if you are interested in discussing a sale.

Thanks!

Steve