Question why are old Coins often worn completely smooth?

[el padron]

Older Coins made out of silver or copper are often worn almost completely smooth whether they are pulled out of the dirt or displayed in a museum.
You don't see old contemporary currency worn completely smooth, is it because silver and copper wear out more easily?
Then why aren't 40-year-old contemporary pennies worn smooth?

 

[el padron]

So obviously some of you are thinking this is a stupid question, so I'll ask my intended original question.

Is it possible that it was common practice to "shave" new Coins until they were smooth, then put them back in circulation for full face value.?
I mean think about it, what would it take to wear an eagle or a walker down until it was basically un recognizable?
If they were basically unrecognizable, once they got to a bank, wouldn't they have been pulled out of circulation?
If they were hoarded for 70 years, then why are they still smooth?

 

[huntsman53]

Well, Lincoln Wheat Cents and many Silver Dimes, Quarters and Halves were still in use well into the 1960's and some even beyond. Imagine how many hands, how many pockets and how many purses that a lot of these coins touched, went through or were carried in for 40 to 60 years. Just think about it...what they could tell us if they could talk and what they have went through since being struck (minted). The Copper/Nickel cladded Dimes, Quarters and Halves produced since 1965 are of harder compositions harder and thus made more durable to last.


Frank

 

[coinguy*matthew]

I'll also add that modern coins are struck with much lower relief so they have to wear much further before the key elements of the design begin to be affected.

 

[el padron]

I'll also add that modern coins are struck with much lower relief so they have to wear much further before the key elements of the design begin to be affected.

I have heard that the ridges on the edges of modern coins originated to discourage shaving.

Its hard to conceive that such a huge quantity of gold and silver was simply washed down the drain and wasn't somehow harvested. .

 

[unclemac]

some coin designs were short lived or altered quickly because wear in certain areas of the surface, for instance standing liberty quarters.....

 

[el padron]

some coin designs were short lived or altered quickly because wear in certain areas of the surface, for instance standing liberty quarters.....

Thank you, so they were designed to be beautiful but not necessarily durable…..

 

[releventchair]

https://www.kitcomm.com/showthread.php?110596-Do-you-carry-a-silver-or-gold-coin-in-your-pocket

Superstitions and Coins Can Bode Good and Bad Luck

 

[releventchair]

The second link shoes some wear possibilities I had not considered. Mintage quantity and replacement intervals may come into play. Heard of putting in milk pitcher but not a churn where it would wear for sure. Fingers and pockets though are prime suspects.
As a kid a day old loaf of Vienna bread from the bakery cost a clad dime. There was silver in change on occasion but in its time if a single silver dime assured a full belly, a quarter or larger denomination carried for an emergency could depending on the bearers fortune be carried a long time.

 

[austin]

When I was but a wee lad in the 50's, I collected buffalo nickels. Many, many were worn then and dates were hard to see. Soft metals that just wear with use...

 

[unclemac]

and remember too....no one was collecting silver change in a jar...coins had value and were spent, in 1910 a silver dollar had the buying power of about 20$ today, so even a penny was something you bent over for and picked up.

 

[Peyton Manning]

gold wasn't worth 1300 and silver wasn't worth 20 until very recently, so shaving them would not net you much

 

[blindbug]

On top of all that was said above, the way we use coinage / currency has also changed. It wasn't until the 50's that Credit Cards came out, and even then it was only for particular stores or locations. Even checks weren't used by the majority of people, since many during the depression took their money out of banks and kept it tucked under the mattress. This meant that if you wanted to buy something, you had to carry the money on you. A coin had a lot more buying power back then, so carrying a dollar in coinage was very much equivalent to carrying $10-$15 today. Since many many more people were carrying their currency / coinage at that time, it stands to reason that those coins would wear more quickly and / or to a larger degree than today (when people tend to carry a credit card and a few bills, but very few coins since their buying power is so low).

 

[el padron]

Another good point, thanks..

 

[watercolor]

Well, Lincoln Wheat Cents and many Silver Dimes, Quarters and Halves were still in use well into the 1960's and some even beyond. Imagine how many hands, how many pockets and how many purses that a lot of these coins touched, went through or were carried in for 40 to 60 years. Just think about it...what they could tell us if they could talk and what they have went through since being struck (minted). The Copper/Nickel cladded Dimes, Quarters and Halves produced since 1965 are of harder compositions harder and thus made more durable to last.


Frank

When I was a kid starting to collect coins in the late 1950's and recall a comment
my grandmother made to me when I asked her if she had any old coins.

She still had a couple of IH pennies and a V-Nickle but then went on to say she
hated getting those "big pennies" in change from the dry goods store and she
would try to get rid of them the next time she went shopping.
Yep, she was referring to Large Cents that were still in circulation where she lived in the 1920's.

 

[unclemac]

Pa used to do business in gold coins at face value......it still makes me shiver to think about

 

[el padron]

When I was a kid starting to collect coins in the late 1950's and recall a comment
my grandmother made to me when I asked her if she had any old coins.

She still had a couple of IH pennies and a V-Nickle but then went on to say she
hated getting those "big pennies" in change from the dry goods store and she
would try to get rid of them the next time she went shopping.
Yep, she was referring to Large Cents that were still in circulation where she lived in the 1920's.

In perspective, there really was no reason to make American coins so large. The old Morgans and standing liberty coinage is unique in that so mooch precious metal was used in their manufacture. The Greeks and Romans used minuscule coins that represented much higher denominations that were also made of silver.
Even those are not worn as bad as some mid American currency.

 

[unclemac]

true indeed...and a lot of counterfeits too!

 

[cosmic]

Some a good luck charm that were constantly rubbed... Some are worn while in wallets for years.. Some are the start of Love tokens.....

 

[Hot zone]

I am sure I could put a lot of wear on a dime that could buy a sack of candy, just clutching in my fist all the way to the Candy store in the 50s...