Coins and general questions

[jgowans]

Can anyone give me a breakdown of the coins posted on this site?
Since all I seem to find is clad and old rusted iron.
Why are some coins called Barber and what is the history behind them?
I have heard that where there are indians they may be silver? Why is that?
The coppers I have seen, are they really made of copper and what period where they made.
Does age equate to depth? What are the reasons for coins getting so deep? Vegetation? Gravity? Soil type?

I know, I should just go buy a coin book.......
But hey I crave human contact.
Thanks
JG

 

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[funkman]

I can help you understand some of what you are asking...

The barber coins were designed by a fellow name Barber....that is why they are referred as that. They were pretty much from the late 1800's to early 1900's.

indian head cents were from mid 1800's to 1909 and they have Liberty wearing an indian headress. They would be the same age as silver coins but indian head cents were not made of silver.

You can check out this site for more information on the coins without going out and buying a coin book. Even shows pics of the various coins.

http://www.pcgs.com/prices/

Hope this helps and welcome to Tnet.

Funkman

 

[jgowans]

Thanks Funkman.
I know my day will come, but until the let the pennies add up!

 

[deepskyal]

Not sure of the exact era of the old colonial coppers....but old colonial means old! And yes, they are made from copper. They are an extremely nice find and there are some on here that do nothing BUT hunt for the old colonials. Haven't found any myself...YET!!! I've zeroed in on a likely site tho.

No...age doesn't necessarily equate to depth. I just found 2 old miner tags from the mid 1800's. One was on the surface, the other about 5" deep. Go figure? They were made of brass.

I think there are actually too many variables on how and why coins sink and to what depth. It just does...and that's what makes this hobby both fun and challenging.

Enjoy the hobby....you'll learn a good bit on here...just keep firing off questions and someones bound to answer you.

Al

 

[Evolution]

What a great hobby this is. Glad you're getting into it. You won't be sorry. To answer a few of your questions.........

Barber coins were minted from 1892 through 1916. They were made of 90% silver and 10% copper and in denominations of dime, quarter, and half dollar. Like someone already answered above they were designed by Charles E. Barber who was an engraver at the mint at the time. Barber dimes were replaced by mercury dimes in 1916. In 1946 the mercury dime was replaced by the silver Roosevelt dime. Roosevelt dimes continued to be silver through 1964. In 1965 they became clad, which is a composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Barber quarters were replaced by standing liberty quarters in 1917 which continued through 1930. No quarters were minted in 1931 and in 1932 the Washington quarter design began.

When someone says that silver can be found where indians are turning up (I'm assuming that this means indian head pennies but with some of these posts, especially where arrowheads are being found, indians can actually mean indians). Anyway back to my point....during the time that Indian head pennies were minted (1859-1909) most other coinage, with the exception of nickels and three cent nickels, were made of silver.

And now on to the coppers. Yes, they are made of copper. You hear alot about coppers on this site. Someone said above that there are people on this site that do nothing but search for old coppers. I kind of file myself in this category. Once you find your first copper, you won't stop until you find some more. It's addictive.
A colonial copper is different from more recent coppers (like old U.S. large cents). The term colonial refers to times before the states were united and there were just "colonies". U.S. coinage began in the late 1700's. I believe the fugio cent was among the first coins (1787) to be minted with the "United States" words on it. There were a few other issues between then and 1794 when the U.S. coins began to be more widely produced. Many of the late 1700's US coins are highly sought after and very rare. British coinage was very prevalent in the colonies in the 1700's and consequently, British coppers tend to turn up alot at older colonial sites. Silver coins in the colonies back then were predominantly of Spanish lineage.

Although this was just a very brief outline of coins, I hope it helps in some small way. I would recommend getting the Red Book of U.S. coins. It not only covers American coins, but also has a pretty good section on colonial coins and is very helpful in identifying coins and placing a rough estimate of value on the coins.


Good Luck,
Evolution, AKA Rob

 

[jgowans]

Thanks Al and Rob. It is wierd to think of all of the buried stuff out there.
My thought on depth was if vegetation, soil conditions or high traffic areas would cause it.
I think back to my sprinklers a few years ago and I was always having to raise them up each year as the new grass grew and mulch settled. Leaves would also "thicken" the soil over time. But I suppose we weould have to have a professional comment on that.

Thanks again
JG

 

[Mirage]

Thanks Al and Rob. It is wierd to think of all of the buried stuff out there.
My thought on depth was if vegetation, soil conditions or high traffic areas would cause it.
I think back to my sprinklers a few years ago and I was always having to raise them up each year as the new grass grew and mulch settled. Leaves would also "thicken" the soil over time. But I suppose we weould have to have a professional comment on that.

Thanks again
JG

I've heard statements like "Grass clippings will add xx inches per year to coin depths". So much matters on soil composition, grass growth, compactness of the ground, clay layer, etc. My grandmothers house was built in the 20's There was only about two inches of topsoil and then solid clay. That was the funnest place to hunt - all the silver coins, buffalo nickels, wheat pennies, etc stopped sinking after 2 inches. And I know they did not bag the clippings. So the grass clippings totaling 80+ years did not account for more than an inch. The main factor in determining what depths objects sink to is density. Objects will fall until soil density becomes greater than the object. Density is surface area divided by mass. So Gold rings and coins sink big time! A gold coin is twice as dense as a standard dime.

Bob

 

[UncleVinnys]

You would THINK the older the coins are the deeper they are found,
but that is not true at all. It depends on many factors, such as vegetation,
soil type, and not the least of which is older coins being recently lost.

Some of my oldest coins were found under an inch deep, and some 1940s coins
were even on the surface, so go figure.

I can see from your questions you are learning quickly.
Welcome to the sport!