help!! I was given coins by my uncle when he passed but I'm clueless!! 0

[Chance3742]

So I have a 1977 Red Quarter that weighs 5.73Grams. What does that mean and what should I do with these coins?? I feel like they'll go to waist with me since I don't know anything!!!

[JKK]

If the quarter is red as in fingernail polish, it was probably a vending machine/video game/pinball replacement coin. In those days, vending machine suppliers and operators gave nail-polished quarters to the people operating the establishment so that when the machine ate a quarter, they could supply a replacement. They still turn up in change, though I assume that their use declined as most such games ended up in arcades where tokens came into use instead.

Be prepared for most of the "errors" to turn out to be post-mint damage. At the top of this forum are some guidelines I penned to help people post their coins correctly. Feel free to review them before posting--it will save you a lot of trouble and help us to help you.

[Hoghead515]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:37 PM, JKK said:

If the quarter is red as in fingernail polish, it was probably a vending machine/video game/pinball replacement coin. In those days, vending machine suppliers and operators gave nail-polished quarters to the people operating the establishment so that when the machine ate a quarter, they could supply a replacement. They still turn up in change, though I assume that their use declined as most such games ended up in arcades where tokens came into use instead.

Be prepared for most of the "errors" to turn out to be post-mint damage. At the top of this forum are some guidelines I penned to help people post their coins correctly. Feel free to review them before posting--it will save you a lot of trouble and help us to help you.

I almost asked that question while back. We find red painted quarters from time to time. I always wondered why people painted them red. Ive also found red painted nickels before. 

[JT2]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:37 PM, JKK said:

If the quarter is red as in fingernail polish,

You are not supposed to ask those types of questions these days...... George identifies ad a non binary twetyfive cent piece........................hahahahahahaha

[J P M]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:37 PM, JKK said:

If the quarter is red as in fingernail polish, it was probably a vending machine/video game/pinball replacement coin. In those days, vending machine suppliers and operators gave nail-polished quarters to the people operating the establishment so that when the machine ate a quarter, they could supply a replacement. They still turn up in change, though I assume that their use declined as most such games ended up in arcades where tokens came into use instead.

Be prepared for most of the "errors" to turn out to be post-mint damage. At the top of this forum are some guidelines I penned to help people post their coins correctly. Feel free to review them before posting--it will save you a lot of trouble and help us to help you.

I see the old red quarters all the time. It reminds me of the Pinball Arcade before the ATARI games filled the room. 

[Coinbuf]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:30 PM, Chance3742 said:

So I have a 1977 Red Quarter that weighs 5.73Grams. What does that mean and what should I do with these coins?? I feel like they'll go to waist with me since I don't know anything!!!

Welcome to the forum, you have the answer to the red quarter, as to the remaining coins there is not much we can tell you without seeing the coins.   I would suggest that you find a local coin shop and contact them to see if they are willing to evaluate your coins.   The chances that you have anything truly rare or valuable is possible but not likely, I say that so you are prepared for that worst case possible outcome.   If that is not a viable option, then you can post photos here and we will do our best to help you.   Do not attempt to clean or scrub the coins as you could inadvertently damage them.

[JKK]

On 2/7/2022 at 12:35 AM, Hoghead515 said:

I almost asked that question while back. We find red painted quarters from time to time. I always wondered why people painted them red. Ive also found red painted nickels before. 

I was never sure how many the pinball/video game company supplied when servicing the machines, but the ritual was pretty straightforward. If the machine chowed your quarter, you went to the counter and told Shirley or Zillah, and they gave you a red one, so it must have been plenty. In adulthood I came to realize that it was to avoid throwing off the accounting; by segregating the red quarters from the haul, they could pretty much be sure their income figures were correct while enabling the store owner to make people happy without having to keep a tally of freebies handed out.

[RWB]

The red (or other color) quarters were used to track the number of free plays given for each machine. That not only allowed the business to accurately determine revenue of each machine - and thus its popularity - but identified machines that malfunctioned more than average. (Many game parlors leased machines, and one that was malfunctioning - requiring more free plays - hurt the business' revenue. Business owners could use their free play percentage data to demand replacement of a specific machine by the lessor.)

[VKurtB]

On 2/7/2022 at 1:32 PM, RWB said:

The red (or other color) quarters were used to track the number of free plays given for each machine. That not only allowed the business to accurately determine revenue of each machine - and thus its popularity - but identified machines that malfunctioned more than average. (Many game parlors leased machines, and one that was malfunctioning - requiring more free plays - hurt the business' revenue. Business owners could use their free play percentage data to demand replacement of a specific machine by the lessor.)

I mistakenly thought this was common knowledge. 

[Conder101]

It is for us old timers.

[Hoghead515]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:19 PM, VKurtB said:

I mistakenly thought this was common knowledge. 

I literally didnt know. That was a couple days before my time. Or according to this quarter I found today, a couple years before I was born anyways. I never got out much. Wasnt much to do like that out in the country where we lived.  But I find red quarters and nickels constantly. Heres one I got back in change today on my lunchbreak. I almost ask that question while back why people painted them red back in the day. Ive seen them my whole life and always wondered why Ive seen so many. Now I know. 

[VKurtB]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:45 PM, Hoghead515 said:

I literally didnt know. That was a couple days before my time. Or according to this quarter I found today, a couple years before I was born anyways. I never got out much. Wasnt much to do like that out in the country where we lived.  But I find red quarters and nickels constantly. Heres one I got back in change today on my lunchbreak. I almost ask that question while back why people painted them red back in the day. Ive seen them my whole life and always wondered why Ive seen so many. Now I know. 

Classic “house quarter” for a jukebox system. 

[Chance3742]

On 2/6/2022 at 3:37 PM, JKK said:

If the quarter is red as in fingernail polish, it was probably a vending machine/video game/pinball replacement coin. In those days, vending machine suppliers and operators gave nail-polished quarters to the people operating the establishment so that when the machine ate a quarter, they could supply a replacement. They still turn up in change, though I assume that their use declined as most such games ended up in arcades where tokens came into use instead.

Be prepared for most of the "errors" to turn out to be post-mint damage. At the top of this forum are some guidelines I penned to help people post their coins correctly. Feel free to review them before posting--it will save you a lot of trouble and help us to help you.

Here are some photos of the front and back of the 1977 quarter I was talking about!! Which I have new info on since writing this post. I had the town jeweler look at it and he said that this coin is 40% silver and that the red color is due to a casting error that although it is rare it does happen!!! So what does that mean and what should I do with it at this point because I can't find a '77 Denver mint that's silver online!?

[Coinbuf]

Well my first suggestion is that you be very careful before buying any coins from that fellow, your qtr looks to have been buried in the ground and is suffering from environmental damage.   The reason you cannot find any info about a silver qtr from 1977 minted at the Denver mint is because there were no silver quarters produced at the Denver mint for 1977.  I do not know how this jeweler came to his conclusion, however as there were no quarters made of silver at any mint in 1977 I'm very certain that he has given you some bad information.   

There were some 40% silver quarters produced in 1976, however those were only produced at the San Francisco mint.   If he offered more than $1 for it, you should run back and take him up on that offer.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Coinbuf

[VKurtB]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:27 PM, Chance3742 said:

Here are some photos of the front and back of the 1977 quarter I was talking about!! Which I have new info on since writing this post. I had the town jeweler look at it and he said that this coin is 40% silver and that the red color is due to a casting error that although it is rare it does happen!!! So what does that mean and what should I do with it at this point because I can't find a '77 Denver mint that's silver online!?

YIKES! Strictly one thing - corrosion damage. NOT 40% silver. 0% silver. Two metals only - copper and nickel. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by VKurtB

[JKK]

Also it's not a nail-polish-painted replacement quarter for vending machines. That would be a bright red, kind of a magenta in many cases, and would clearly look like paint with residue persistent in protected areas.

[Just Bob]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:27 PM, Chance3742 said:

Here are some photos of the front and back of the 1977 quarter I was talking about!! Which I have new info on since writing this post. I had the town jeweler look at it and he said that this coin is 40% silver and that the red color is due to a casting error that although it is rare it does happen!!! So what does that mean and what should I do with it at this point because I can't find a '77 Denver mint that's silver online!?

Although it may be tempting to take the word of your local jeweler - whom you may know personally - over the word of some old guys on a chat board - whom you have never met - the information you got from your jeweler is wrong. As far as US coins are concerned, neither quarters nor the blanks from which they are struck are cast, so a "casting error" is out of the question. The odds of your coin being 40% silver are basically zero, as well.

[Hoghead515]

Looks like a metal detector find or one someone picked up out of the dirt. I agree it looks to have been buried at on time and just corroded. Ive dug them up before that look just like that. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Hoghead515

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 2/12/2022 at 3:27 PM, Chance3742 said:

I had the town jeweler look at it and he said that this coin is 40% silver and that the red color is due to a casting error that although it is rare it does happen!!!

He was probably referring to a missing clad layer error, which this coin is not, and zero chance that this is a silver planchet. Too many times have I read, on this forum, poor information given to a new collector from their local jeweler and I wouldn't take any coins to this one again. 

Quote

 

On 2/12/2022 at 3:27 PM, Chance3742 said:

So what does that mean and what should I do with it at this point because I can't find a '77 Denver mint that's silver online!?

Spend it. 

[VKurtB]

I am utterly gobsmacked how completely ignorant so-called jewelers are. We give them far too much credit for having even a very lonely single solitary clue. They’re retailers, nothing more. Hucksters. Sometimes i-d-i-o-t-s, but always hucksters. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by VKurtB

[VKurtB]

On 2/12/2022 at 2:27 PM, Chance3742 said:

So what does that mean and what should I do with it at this point because I can't find a '77 Denver mint that's silver online!?

Nothing. You can’t find it online because no such thing exists. Your jeweler is a m-o-r-o-n.