RWB

What are the most common things new collectors want to know -- other than "What's it worth" ?

PS: The OPs coin appears to be an obverse from the slightly revised hub of 1923 (similar to the first 1922 hub with subtly better central detail).

Greg -- Your photos suggest considerable handling and maybe a bath or two. As Just Bob noted a 1923 dollar would have to grade MS66 or better to justify authentication and "grading." Here is a photo of NGC #1909175-007, MS-67. Compare the surfaces to your coin.

The original writer was referring to bronze cents, and copper-nickel 3-cent and 5-cent pieces. Use of this method on bronze cents would have been counterproductive. Copper dissolves in HNO3 within minutes. I suspect that Dr Booth, the Melter & Refiner, was referring only to copper-nickel coins, and never got around to bronze cleaning. Weak sulfuric acid was used to clean ("whiten") planchets just before striking. Possibly that or ordinary soap was used n cents.

Cleanliness of circulating coins was of considerable importance to the Treasury Department. The general public was becoming increasingly aware of "germs" and the presence of dirt on coins and paper currency gave rise to several operational changes in the Treasury. The first centered on attempts by the Mints and Sub-treasuries to wash or clean circulating coins, then return them to commerce. The second came from banks and businesses who were under public pressure to pay out only new or shiny coins. The latter caused a "run" on the Mints for new coins during the 4th quarter of each year. In some years, the Philadelphia Mint was ordered to strike small quantities of new silver and small-denomination gold coins solely to satisfy "new coins only" demands of banking customers. This letter and its reply show the attention paid by the Philadelphia Mint in cleaning minor coins for reissue. I doubt the methods would be approved by today's numismatists, but in 1875 it helped reduce the need for new minor coins. (Hence - low mintages...) Office of U.S. Assistant Treasurer Boston, Mass. December 3, 1875 Hon. James Pollock Superintendent U.S. Mint Philadelphia, Pa. Sir, If consistent with the public interest, please inform me what solution is used at the Mint for cleaning five cent nickel coins when stained or soiled, and also what solution is used for cleaning the one cent pieces. The purpose of my inquiry is to see if it will be practicable to clean in this office the numerous soiled minor coins which I am obliged daily to receive. Very Respectfully, F. Haveu, Jr. Assistant Treasurer, U.S. [Pencil note on reverse:] December 6, 1875 We dip momentarily in aqua fortis, and then finish by a dip in pure nitric acid, the moment it is finished the pieces are thrown into water containing a mere trace of sulphuric [sic] acid. They can be kept almost any length of time in this acidulated water without tarnishing. They are then wiped dry and revolved in a wheel in masses to give them a little polish. James C. Booth, M&R modurn purificandi inventor [RG104 E-1 Box 102. Digitized by Newman Numismatic Portal - NNP]

The two factors continuously acting to turn US double eagles and other gold coins back into metal bars were: Export and melting (by far the largest factor); and Domestic recoinage of light weight/ worn/mutilated coins. Other denominations had slightly different attrition factors. A good example is the $1 gold coin. After a couple of years of initial success, these little coins became a nuisance in circulation and especially at Post Offices. The coins accumulated as Mints continued production and consumers rejected them as inconvenient. After 1862, gold dollars were largely used in domestic and English jewelry. The Treasury eventually accepted that the coins were not circulating and approved melting them by the millions - usually into double eagles which were then exported. Gold dollar attrition was due to: Government melting of unwanted coins; Domestic recoinage of light weight/ worn/mutilated coins; Domestic jewelry use; and Export for jewelry use. Production of gold dollars was maintained until 1889. Treasury was reluctant to produce the coins, and was aware of their primary use in jewelry. However, they were popular for christening gifts, wedding anniversaries, and at holiday time. Treasury Secretaries inevitably gave-in to public and official peer pressure during the latter part of each year, resulting in limited production. [See also Renaissance of American Coinage 1905-1915, "Treasurer's Treasure."]

This letter will help visualize the fate of many US gold coins - they were routinely culled from circulation and recoined. This maintained the intrinsic value of the coins in circulation. This is just one of dozens of similar Transfer Orders issued every year for decades.

Not quite....For all of 1933 and January 1934 the Treasury paid legal tender value for US gold coins - what they were worth as money. After the Gold Act passed, licensed gold dealers could sell the coins as bullion (the Act removed legal tender status from gold coins). People who had DE and sold to gold buyers usually got about $28. Outside of the US, coins were just metal - as they had always been - and traded as bullion.

"Corrosion" v. 1. The act of believing unsubstantiated comments read on the internet. 2. The effect on human brain cells by excess internet belief. 3. (slang) erratic or drugged-like behavior, "Hey bro, you're really corroded, man!" :)

You might have a few rolls of 'em sitting around....and ask the cherubim to stand so you can look under their seats for SMS and Neophytim.

It's a common, bag marked 1964 half. The phony "SMS" nonsense has clearly gotten out of hand if neophyte collectors are jumping at it.

Very nice solid EF and certainly worth having authenticated and "graded" by a competent 3rd party. The clear centering dots on both sides are a nice bonus, and good "learning points."

LeeG has extensive material about all the classic commemoratives - far richer, deeper and more engaging that ANY prior work by ANY author. What is so disappointing is the unwillingness of a hobby publisher to print and distribute his work. I realize that there are likely more Commemorative coin books per collector than any other subject, but this one is exceptional and makes all the others instantly obsolete. Whitman Publishing LLC -- are you listening? [PS: If I won the lottery I'd publish it in a minute...! ]

A wide range of auction catalogs, including all of Heritage's, are available free to view or download on the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP). A caveat concerning auction and general coin dealer catalogs might be appropriate. Most descriptions are built on old information or "traditional wisdom" rather than modern research and analysis. There are exceptions and they are most prevalent among high value lots from Heritage and Stacks-Bowers. Also, any catalog with John Kraljevich's name attached is likely to be far more dependable than others. Among the better lot descriptions are those with carefully complied provenance including price histories and that clearly mention discrepancies and unknowns.

Well...maybe move the decimal point a bit to the left until you get to: 000000000.01

Get a soft artist's brush (real sable, not fake) and dust it off. You might give it a bath in acetone. Nice EF-AU 3-cent silvers are inexpensive and oddly compelling - maybe it's their size.

Dimes were being struck at 100-120 per minute. It might have been more difficult to see or hear dies meeting without a planchet between them, than for larger coin made at a somewhat slower rate. I'm not sure any of the press operators used magnifiers -- at least I've never seen it mentioned.

HPA has the tools to allow ANA or individual collectors of coins and political items to bring civil action (not criminal). A bit of meaningful aggression by ANA toward sellers and enablers of counterfeiters would make a substantial reduction in availability. The Hobby.Business has the means to choke counterfeiting on small and large scale - if it has the will to act. The solutions have little to do with technology - counterfeiters are not doing things much different than a century ago. Nearly perfect counterfeits were being turned out in the 1880s - even double headed Morgan dollars that long fooled "experts."

Really stupid comment.

Until NNP got off the ground, the only way to access US Mint archive information was by making a personal visit to one of the NARA sites. Very steep learning curve, limited finding aid help, very limited staff help, no useful indexing, takes a lot of time. NNP is supporting digitization of some Mint materials but users must search images page-by-page. NNP has recently begun supporting transcription of selected documents from Philadelphia (Entry 1) to fill in during the present NARA closures. I've also had help from volunteers in transcribing documents from NARA College Park. In both cases the volume is huge and resources minuscule. Some of the raw data in NNP and my database are the same; however, mine has a descriptive file name for each document. (NNP has little below the Volume or Box label level.) Descriptive file names permits subject/topic searches even if the document has not been transcribed. I'm struggling to identify a way to open and simplify access to US Mint materials, and to do it at low cost and high reliability. (My articles and books include extensive source listings.) Maybe this needs more thought from multiple angles and approaches.

NGC has a very good information article on doubled dies - but I can't locate it at the moment.

Uhmmmm....A clarification. The Lulu Lemon air tite comment was "humor." Lulu Lemon sells "yoga" pants and women's items that are so "tite" that no air can get between fabric and skin...It might be possible to read the inscription on a coin ... but I've never tried.

But...shrubberies migrate.... Just ask Gladys and the other Knights of Nee.

The OPs posted photos were mirror images--which is what the CCD actually "sees" before the camera SW corrects it.