Coin wear

Tom, can you post the standards for coin wear? How long it takes to wear off coin details, do some coins wear faster than others due to the type of material. etc....


Thanks

I'm quite short on time at the moment...........but...........a short answer for silver,,,,,,,,,,,,,as...... I believe this is would most want to know.

A Barber dime & quarter will go from MS-65 to G-4 in approx 3-1/2 years of 'regular' circulation. (Barber half dollars took about 4-1/2 years). The determining factor of the 'grade' of Barber coins is the letters "L I B E R T Y" in the headband. THEY WORE QUICKLY!!!! Most folks do not realize how 'soft' silver is.

A Mercury dime would wear from new condition (MS-65) to Fine (F-12) condition in approx 13 months. Then another 5 years of regular circulation......and the coin would be in Good (G-4) condition. This is to say that; just over 6 years of circulation...... a silver Mercury dime would be in G-4 condition.

This 'model' above is a good representation for how other silver coins would wear.

I had one of the neatest occurences many years ago. I found a very tight/focal coin spill that.........4 of the coins were Barber Quarters. Dates were 1895, 1902, 1909 & 1916. The 1916 was VF-30, the 1909 was G-6, the 1902 was G-4..........and the 1895 was barely a G-4.......a very flat quarter. It appeared the 1909 'survived' a bit longer than 'norm' model. Maybe in a piggy bank for a handful of months. BUT, still...... all fit within the normal wear model.

Two years later, I found a nearly uncirculated 1919 Mercury dime stuck to a G-6 (almost VG-8) 1916 Mercury dime. Definately from the same pocket.

Many more 'coin spills' to validate the above data. Also Q. David Bowers has written several books on silver U.S. coins.......and he covers 'how quickly' these coins will wear. He does a superb job on the Barber series coins. If you need more info on his publications.....just holler.

It's hard to believe that silver coins wear so much very quickly, but it's true. Yesterday After I read this thread, I found two Roosevelt dimes(61 and 56) that were stuck together in one hole, as a result of a pocket spill. The 61 was basically AU, and the 56 had almost flat rims, and the date was almost worn off. It's hard to believe silver wears so fast, but apparently it does.

Excellent info, glad that I was able to dig this up with a simple search.


Any idea how long coins remained in circulation following a 'redesign' of the denomination?


Best of luck out there.


Rich -

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Just one more good target before I go.

A redesign of a coin does not appear to have much of a effect, IRT the removal of the older design. Indian Head pennies were still in circulation in the early 1950's (although a bit sparce)..........Shield nickels were still in circulation in the 1920's...............'V' nickels were still in circulation throughout the entire Buffalo nickel era. Seated Liberty dimes/quarters/half-dollars were in full circulation throughout the entire Barber coinage era......and all the way through the 1930's. Wheat pennies were still in circulation in the early 1980's. This specific situation about the wheat penny is a bit unique in two respects: 1) there were MANY more coin collectors in the 1980's (vs earlier years), and 2) pennies are the easiest to collect.

As far as 'material' of the coin (not the 'design'); half of the coins in circulation were silver (IRT dimes/quarters/half-dollars) in mid-year 1969.

In mid-year 1982 (nearly 30 years ago).....the copper Lincoln penny was switched to a Zinc Lincoln penny. Copper pennies are still plentiful in circulation as of today. This is another unique situation; ...... as a copper penny is worth approx 2.4-cents intrinsic (copper) value. This is 240% face-value. Nobody seems to care. (Yes, I am collecting them......out of circulation).

I just looked in my pocket at a handful of change........and noticed a 1959 nickel.......two 1964 nickels............a 1965 dime and quarter..........a 1961 penny................and many newer coins. This is to say; 50 year old coins (even today) are still in circulation.
........Imagine detecting a 1940 house/school/park/church. It would not be uncommon to find coins from the 1890's.............albeit.......a bit worn.

In the 1850's.........it was VERY common to see/have coins from the 1700's.......as all of the Spanish currency was still in circulation ... (and throughout the Civil War.......until Lincoln requested that we start to gain our own independency......away from Spanish/English rule........and switch to the 'independent' country that we are.....and should be.....via the removal of Spanish coin from this 'independent' country's circulation).