Finding a 25-year old coin "time capsule"

[shirohniichan]

We cleaned out our garage a few weeks ago and found my father-in-law's change jar from his office. Apparently it's almost 25 years old as the most recent coin I found in it was a 1987-D quarter. Last night I took out some Whitman folders, and my daughters and I plugged holes with the best examples we could find.

 

While 1987 doesn't seem that long ago, it is interesting to put it in perspective. What would it have been like for me to have found a 25-year old container of pocket change in 1981 when I was collecting coins? It would have been a much more profitable venture, that's for sure. Silver was booming, and all the cents would have been wheat-backs.

 

It's interesting to find a mixture of circulation coins with no state quarters or nickels besides the standard Jefferson and Monticello type (the oldest was from 1940). The other odd thing is that the 1980s cents are still red and the nickels, dimes and quarters are still lustrous and don't show much sign of wear. We find these coins in change every day, but unless they've been stashed away they look worse for the wear.

 

Stories of coin hoards from 50+ years ago are a lot more interesting, but it's still interesting to consider how much has changed in only the past 25.

[Mokiechan]

What fun, I recently put about 20 dateless Buffalo nickels into circulation over a few days by either putting them in vending machines or using them to make change on purchases. I wish I could track them, like they do with Dollar bills sometimes, to see where they end up.

 

Later,

Malcolm

[jamorse99-migration]

What fun, I recently put about 20 dateless Buffalo nickels into circulation over a few days by either putting them in vending machines or using them to make change on purchases. I wish I could track them, like they do with Dollar bills sometimes, to see where they end up.

 

Later,

Malcolm

 

Maybe someone create a system to track them like for a social studies school project or something. Create a website with a small url and engrave it into the coin like www.co.in

 

But if you use a coin like a Buffalo nickel it'll probably stop its travels right off as soon as someone sees it and keeps it. You need a coin people don't care about spending to get a long trail.

 

 

 

[J.A. Collection]

I think that's awesome! I mainly 'collect' raw coins to fill albums and/or folders and replace them if I find a coin in better condition.

[shirohniichan]

If only I had plugged Whitman albums with my dad when I was my younger daughter's age (5)! A coffee mug full of 25+ year old coins from back then would have been a lot more interesting than the clad, cupro-nickel, bronze and copper-plated zinc stuff we found.

 

When you' re impressed with an AU pre-state quarter, you know it's time to get back to your 19th century type set.