Finding good deals on any certificate of deposit is a chore, but six-month CD rates have been particularly hard hit.

Just five weeks ago, our October ranking of the best six-month CDs was led by H&R Block Bank's 2.00% APY.

Now Block is paying 1.00% APY.

Country Bank has cut its rate from 1.80% APY to 1.60% APY and fallen out of the top three. Even Ascencia Bank, the lone holdover in our November rankings, has dropped its rate.

The new leader as of Nov. 9 is First Century Bank, which has two branches in the Atlanta area.

First Century does not post rates on its Web site, but as of this morning, it's paying 1.75% APY -- a quarter point lower than the top rate in October -- with a $10,000 minimum deposit.

The other top six-month CD rates in our November rankings are also down from last month:

1.63% APY with a $500 minimum from Ascencia Bank, the Louisville-based online division of Porter Bancorp Inc.

1.62% APY with a $3,000 minimum from newdominionDIRECT.com, the online division of NewDominion Bank in Charlotte, N.C.

As disappointing as this is, all of these banks are paying three times more than the average rate on six-month CDs, which fell to a record-low 0.57% last week.

Click here to compare these rates with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.

This CD calculator will show you the dollars-and-cents return for any certificate of deposit, regardless of size, interest rate or term.

By Carolyn Siegel

Interest.com Associate Editor