Spooned Coins 1 1

[EagleRJO]

I was looking up some possible errors while doing some roll hunting and I came across a type of non-error called "spooned coins" on a coin error site [Non-Errors for Coins - error-ref.com] under "altered coins" that I had not been aware of before.  I did some searching and initially got results for something mentioning people "coin spooning" ... oh man, some of the search results looked pretty sketchy, and the visualization of what those search results could be had me hesitant to click on any such links. 

Well, I scrolled past those and found the attached description for "Spooned Coins" [Edit: changed the dime pic as it wasn't "spooned"].  I am trying to understand why someone would do that, since it apparently takes forever hammering flat the edges of a coin with a spoon.  Anyone know more about this and why it was done?

Edited September 3, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Redline68]

My grandfather spent a few weeks being transported on a ship during WWII.  He told me it was very noisy as so many soldiers were tapping on coins with spoons to make rings to pass the time.

[EagleRJO]

On 11/20/2022 at 7:48 PM, Redline68 said:

My grandfather spent a few weeks being transported on a ship during WWII.  He told me it was very noisy as so many soldiers were tapping on coins with spoons to make rings to pass the time.

How do you make a ring from a coin with just a spoon?  Nothing else?  I have to check this out some more.  Very interesting stuff you find about coins occasionally while looking for something else.

Edited November 21, 2022 by EagleRJO

[Just Bob]

Another theory as to why coins have flattened edges and thick rims is that they get caught between the inner and outer drums of a commercial clothes dryer, and the constant rotation against the two surfaces produces the same effect as spooning - hence the name "dryer coin "  You can find lots of pictures by searching that term also.

By the way, I don't think the above Roosevelt fits in either of these categories. That coin looks like it was either forced into a bezel or other encapsulation, or caught in some kind of machine that wore down the rims. The outer edge is not flattened  the way a spooned coin would be.

[EagleRJO]

I found an article about making the spooned coin ring, which is done with a silver coin like a quarter or half dollar as it's a softer metal.  In addition to a spoon, looks like you also need a metal file and a drill which I could see needing, as opposed to just using a spoon.  You apparently tap the edges inward with the spoon until it's the right ring size, drill out the middle, and file it down.  I couldn't picture it just being done with a spoon.  And I agree the dime doesn't have the same "spooned coin" appearance [so I swapped out the dime].

Attached is an example spooned coin ring with the flattening of the edges towards the middle in progress and then the finished ring.  The guy who wrote the article said it took him one year to make the ring just tapping on the silver quarter in his spare time, while watching tv, etc.  Wow, talk about patience! ... and maybe some ear plugs too. 

Edited November 23, 2022 by EagleRJO

[Coinbuf]

While I have no firsthand experience I have heard that spooning a coin is popular with those incarcerated in prisons, lots of time.

[Redline68]

On 11/20/2022 at 10:00 PM, EagleRJO said:

How do you make a ring from a coin with just a spoon?  Nothing else?  I have to check this out some more.  Very interesting stuff you find about coins occasionally while looking for something else.

He told me they punched a hole through the center and were tapping them all over the ship...against rails, steps, decking, bunks. I didn't ask any more on the topic. At the time I was more interested in why he was going to the Aleutian Islands.

[bsshog40]

[RWB]

NOTE: This does not substitute for clipping your fingernails. Also, it is a very slow way of driving nails into 2x4s. Also, "forking" does not have the opposite effect.

Edited November 21, 2022 by RWB

[J P M]

I remember a bunch of guys from school in the sixty's were doing some until they realized it took way to long to get a ring ..

[EagleRJO]

On 11/20/2022 at 11:48 PM, Coinbuf said:

While I have no firsthand experience ... in prisons,

Hmmm, starting out with a denial, instead of just saying "I heard" ... very suspicious. [duck]  

[EagleRJO]

I found a little bit of further info on this coin damage.  Apparently these spooned coins are very commonly found with just the edges tapped in a little as people get started trying to make a ring, until they realize how long it's going to take and they give up at that point.

[Hoghead515]

On 11/21/2022 at 11:42 AM, EagleRJO said:

I found a little bit of further info on this coin damage.  Apparently these spooned coins are very commonly found with just the edges tapped in a little as people get started trying to make a ring, until they realize how long it's going to take and they give up at that point.

Ive seen them posted on here before. People finding them and wondering what machine at the mint caused that error. 

[EagleRJO]

Btw, I meant to post something about this before, that after finding out about these I think of spooned coins as being different than "dryer coins" which I had heard of before and associate more with a coin tumbling around a commercial dryer and becoming dinged up and mushy, with maybe the rims flattened out a little too (not pushed in reducing the diameter), like the attached.

[KarenHolcomb]

On 11/21/2022 at 8:29 AM, Redline68 said:

He told me they punched a hole through the center and were tapping them all over the ship...against rails, steps, decking, bunks. I didn't ask any more on the topic. At the time I was more interested in why he was going to the Aleutian Islands.

I love you story. I always want to get actual answers that make sense as opposed to what people just use as their canned answers about everything or even worse, the standard of PMD and nothing else.