Ok folks,

you, I hope you can help me out with my questions. It is all about the U.S. currency, regarding the Silver Dollar and Half Dollar.
Since we don't have such beautiful silver shiny coins here in Europe, I thought myself getting a couple of each would be a good idea. Ok here it comes, I have absolutely no knowledge about these coins. I read a lot on the café, browsed ebay and had a look in Wikipedia.
There are sooo many different Silver Dollars and Half Dollars... it really gets me confused.

My main questions/problems/whatsoever are about: value/price I have to pay for, which Silver Dollar, which Half Dollar. Soft coins, uncirculated ones, chrome plated ones, and the list goes on and on.
I am not sure which coins I should use. What are the best coins (condition and year) to go for? I read about the Half Dollars, that the 1964'er Kennedy Half Dollar are great and that they are the only one who have 90% Silver. So I think these are probably the best, or are other Halves as good as these or even better?

Does the amount of silver used for the coin matter at all? I tried to get some 1964'er Halves and then I read about Peace Halves which are considered as very, very good for magic. So I wonder why? Where is the difference and do they have 90% silver as well? And what about the Barber ones?

All these questions are asked for Silver Dollars too. Which are the best, and so on.

And do you suggest getting uncirculated ones, or soft ones, or even chrome plated ones? What is here best? Please don't answer like: Whatever fits your style. Since I cannot buy 5-10 of each coins of each year in each condition I hope to be helped here. I have no knowledge about these coins as I said already, so I appreciate every piece of help/advice/information.

What are you going to use them for?

EG routines? Classic palm stuff? misers dream?

Do you work mostly out of FP, classic, Curl, EG, etc?????

First, find out what coins best fit your hands from those you have available where you are. Is this about sleights? Then get over it and find methods which work for your coinage. To get trapped in special coins for reasons of method is pathetic.

Okay let's pretend you are now looking for coins for the sake of story props and visibility. Believe it or not there were silver coins of Half Dollar and Silver Dollar size in various countries in Europe. And Asia and Africa too.

Anyway, after you find a match between what you wish to perform and what fits your hands it MAY make some sense to use American coins. Maybe. Why put the cart before the horse?

I can only give my view.

To me it don't matter what percentage of silver the Kennedy halves are.
You can read about the composition changes and mint dates here:
http://www.goldline.com/coins/product/ke......lar.html
I was able to get post-1965 Kennedys at cost so I use them most of the time.
Gaffs and gimmicks for the Kennedys are most common.

I was also given some Walking Liberty halves that are somewhat soft.
These I'll use for routines where the coins may tend to rub together and make noise.

As for dollars. I have some Chinese coins about the same size that I'll use.
Morgan Dollars have proven to be very popular and the gaff and gimmicks seem easiet to come by.

Prices are going vary with the date and condition of the coins.

It's not the coins that make the magic. It's what you can do with them.

I hope this helps.

Check out coin sizes on http://www.coinfacts.com. Click on the coin and date and it gives you sizes for each type of coin, and pictures of each

Personally I use dollars. I like Morgan dollars, I found initially they're a little tougher to handle than halfs but a lot of the tables in the restaurant I work are quite large and the place is dimly lit, so I like the visibility, especially when the coins are held in a fan. They suit the environment I work in, and are interesting to look at due to their age.

That said, I only use American coins when they benefit what I'm doing. I will always try to use borrowed coins where I can. I often use 10p pieces for coins to glass and coins across.

I haven't had the luxury of being able to try all these different types of condition and series of each coin, so I can understand and have sympathy for Memory-Jah. but what I have found is that you want coins that have good ridges for certain slights, such as the CP and my favorite, the EP. when it comes to luster, there is no better substitute to a good bottle of tarnish remover and a scrub brush. Regardless, Good luck with finding the coins that fit you.