Dryer Coins 2 2

[Hoghead515]

I almost didnt post this thread but changed my mind. @Just Bob asked me to share a couple pictures of some coins I found working on my dryer. It broke down and I had to put new rollers, a front cloth bearing, and a belt in it. To my suprise when I took it apart it was full of change. It had $13.35 of just clad coins in the bottom. I didnt count the cents but, there was probably over a dollar worth of them. My old lady hasnt been cleaning out pockets very well it seems. Most of the coins were unaffected but there were a few that got caught in the tumbler and flattened out the rims and smoothed the surface down. I threw them all in a very large change jug and found a few. There was a dime that was very neat. it wore down quite a bit. I couldnt find it. It was buried in quite a bit of change. Maybe when i go to roll it up ill be able to spot it again. But there were a few coins that got completely mutilated. They look like parking lot coins now. I never knew a dryer would do that kind of damage. Here is the pics for those interested. Seems several new collectors are interested in damage these days. Maybe these pics will help them. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Hoghead515

[J P M]

A very nice collection you have going there Hog 

[Just Bob]

Thanks. I have been wanting to see some coins that have been confirmed by a member to have actually been found in a dryer. You can find pictures labeled as "dryer coins" all over the place, but you never know if the coins were really found in a dryer, or if they were found elsewhere and just given that label.

[Modwriter]

Nice! A couple of moon cents! Do you have a junk collection? I've just started a junk collection. The worst of the worst.

[Mike Meenderink]

I'm just waiting for Sandon or RWB to come in and start endlessly pontificating about how useless and meaningless the coins you posted are.... 

[RWB]

On 10/7/2023 at 8:48 PM, Mike Meenderink said:

I'm just waiting for Sandon or RWB to come in and start endlessly pontificating about how useless and meaningless the coins you posted are.... 

Was enjoying the OP's authenticated "Dryer Coins" until the rude post above.

These damaged coins are very useful for separating the real thing from guesses, and should answer a lot of new collector questions about "errors" and how they occur, etc.

Thanks, Hoghead515 ! (Could you separate some into damage "types" and post front, back, and possibly edge photos?)

[Hoghead515]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:45 PM, Modwriter said:

Nice! A couple of moon cents! Do you have a junk collection? I've just started a junk collection. The worst of the worst.

I just threw them back in the change jug to roll up for Christmas money. Ive just seen dryer coins on here several times. Finding them in my dryer with that damage was a great chance to post them knowing for sure the dryer caused it. May be what tore my dryer up. Hung in there an broke the belt. Maybe not neither. I was very suprised to see how much there was down in the bottom of it. 

[EagleRJO]

I would think that the damage caused by commercial dryers with an inner and outer drum heated to much higher temperatures would be different.  And the ones I have seen reported to be from those commercial dryers, including coins from repair persons asking if they were worth anything and also referenced on reputable sites like error-ref.com, do look different.

The coins reported to be from commercial dryers appear to have less individual or deep scratches and have a more "mushy" appearance, like the attached example from error-ref.com.  I am wondering if maybe the coins posted above may have already been scratched, but still something different and interesting.  Where those from a "Parking Lot" collection that you left in your pocket? 

https://www.error-ref.com/dryer-coins/

However, the part I don't buy is when coins that have edges pushed in like "spooned" coins are suggested to have come from being jammed and squeezed between the inner and outer drums of a commercial dryer.

While it's possible for a coin to occasionally roll around edgewise on these drums, it would be impossible to go from a flatwise position to edge up in a vertical position jammed between the drums pushing in on the edges.  It just wouldn't fit to begin with.

Edited October 9, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Modwriter]

@EagleRJO do you know the year of the nickel? I can see the 19. The last two digits may be 84?

[EagleRJO]

On 10/7/2023 at 11:28 PM, Modwriter said:

@EagleRJO do you know the year of the nickel? I can see the 19. The last two digits may be 84?

Per the error-ref.com link I posted it says that's a 1964 nickel, and it does look like a match to me.

[powermad5000]

@Hoghead515, you got about $7,500 worth of "error" coins there if you sell them on eBay 

Seriously, though, thank you for taking the time to photograph and post these dryer coins. It is nice to have solid proof of what happens to them when they get down in there. I do agree with @EagleRJO that ones in a commercial dryer would probably look different due to the construction of the dryer itself. I also note seeing these of each denomination and the different sizes have little to do with the amount of damage on them. One might think the smaller, lighter dime would get stuck somewhere and get the snot beat out of it, but in this pic the quarter and the penny took more damage.

Edited October 8, 2023 by powermad5000

[J P M]

The cent is showing the rim being mushroomed . I like the term ( Dryer Coin ) anyway it just fits . 

[zadok]

...seeing a pre-64 dime/quarter mite prove to be interesting to observe how silver vs alloy erosion compare...of course theres no way to know the number of rotations each would have experienced...too bad we dont have a coin collecting dryer repairman on the forum....

[R__Rash]

On 10/7/2023 at 4:04 PM, Hoghead515 said:

I almost didnt post this thread but changed my mind. @Just Bob asked me to share a couple pictures of some coins I found working on my dryer. It broke down and I had to put new rollers, a front cloth bearing, and a belt in it. To my suprise when I took it apart it was full of change. It had $13.35 of just clad coins in the bottom. I didnt count the cents but, there was probably over a dollar worth of them. My old lady hasnt been cleaning out pockets very well it seems. Most of the coins were unaffected but there were a few that got caught in the tumbler and flattened out the rims and smoothed the surface down. I threw them all in a very large change jug and found a few. There was a dime that was very neat. it wore down quite a bit. I couldnt find it. It was buried in quite a bit of change. Maybe when i go to roll it up ill be able to spot it again. But there were a few coins that got completely mutilated. They look like parking lot coins now. I never knew a dryer would do that kind of damage. Here is the pics for those interested. Seems several new collectors are interested in damage these days. Maybe these pics will help them. 

I appreciate this post, one for sharing the info and 2, having taken on this same dryer overhaul a couple of times, understand that it is a bigger job than most can imagine. (Did not find coins)

it’s to bad that while you had it tore down you could not have built a catch pan/tray to just pull from time to time to collect the eBay and Etsy treasures your dryer produces…lol. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by R__Rash

[R__Rash]

On 10/7/2023 at 8:53 PM, EagleRJO said:

I would think that the damage caused by commercial dryers with an inner and outer drum heated to much higher temperatures would be different.  And the ones I have seen reported to be from those commercial dryers, including coins from repair persons asking if they were worth anything and also referenced on reputable sites like error-ref.com, do look different.

The coins reported to be from commercial dryers appear to have less individual or deep scratches and have a more "mushy" appearance, like the attached example from error-ref.com.  I am wondering if maybe the coins posted above may have already been scratched, but still something different and interesting.  Where those from a "Parking Lot" collection that you left in your pocket? 

https://www.error-ref.com/dryer-coins/

However, the part I don't buy is when coins that have edges pushed in like "spooned" coins are suggested to have come from being jammed and squeezed between the inner and outer drums of a commercial dryer.

While it's possible for a coin to occasionally roll around edgewise on these drums, it would be impossible to go from a flatwise position to end up in a vertical position jammed between the drums pushing in on the edges.  It just wouldn't fit to begin with.

What if the coin were to be on the end, not the side. Would it tumble/roll the edge of the coin to the outer drum?

[RWB]

EagleRJO's Illustration somewhat resembles an upsetting mill used by mints to add a proto-rim to blanks.

Edited October 8, 2023 by RWB

[EagleRJO]

On 10/8/2023 at 1:25 PM, R__Rash said:

What if the coin were to be on the end, not the side. Would it tumble/roll the edge of the coin to the outer drum?

No.  If a coin has a diameter greater than the space between the inner and outer drums it could never get in a vertical position, no matter where it is.  It's physically impossible since it just wont fit in the smaller space.  That's why it's just not possible for a "dryer coin" to have edges mashed in like a "spooned" coin.

On 10/8/2023 at 3:07 PM, RWB said:

EagleRJO's Illustration somewhat resembles an upsetting mill used by mints to add a proto-rim to blanks.

Only if it could be gradually jammed into a smaller space, which it cant with a commercial dryer that has a fixed space between the drums.  In the upsetting machine the space starts out greater than the diameter and is reduced to press in the edges and create a rim.

The following is from the mint's webpage on "Coin Production":

Quote

Upsetting means to “upset” the edge of a coin to create a raised rim. The upsetting mill feeds the blanks into a groove slightly narrower than its diameter. This pushes the metal up around the edge to form a rim. The rim protects the final coin from wear and makes it stackable.

Edited October 8, 2023 by EagleRJO

[R__Rash]

On 10/8/2023 at 2:27 PM, EagleRJO said:

No.  If a coin has a diameter greater than the space between the inner and outer drums it could never get in a vertical position, no matter where it is.  It's physically impossible since it just wont fit in the smaller space.  That's why it's just not possible for a "dryer coin" to have edges mashed in like a "spooned" coin.

Only if it could be gradually jammed into a smaller space, which it cant with a commercial dryer that has a fixed space between the drums.  In the upsetting machine the space starts out greater than the diameter and is reduced to press in the edges and create a rim.

The following is from the mint's webpage on "Coin Production":

What do you think @Hoghead515, having just rebuilt your dryer, how many places can a coin come into contact with moving parts after leaving the rotating drum or between stationary and moving. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by R__Rash

[powermad5000]

I am not answering for @Hoghead515, but they dryer I have (which is still going strong after 25 years now), had a built in defect from the factory that caused the belt to break. Me being someone who will fix just about anything without calling "a guy" figured out how to take the cabinet apart and get at the inside of the dryer. Inside was a pile of rubber from the belt as it broke down on the faulty engineered-in part inside near the bottom of the cabinet. They used a fixed nylon arm to route the belt around. This fixed arm caused friction on the belt and caused it to fail and break quickly. Happened after two years of use. The replacement kit included an actual pulley that spins (duh engineer that sits at a desk and does not know how to use a Phillips screwdriver). I am sure this built in defect made a ton of money for Kenmore to sell fix it kits and for Sears repairmen to come out and fix the dryer. It only took a half hour to fix.

Onto the dryer guts. From what I remember there is the square cabinet, the round drum, the belt goes around the drum, the pulley, and the belt drive motor (like belts on old cars that drive the alternator, AC, power steering). There is a heating element and blower for pushing the heat into the drum. At the top there is the control section with the wiring for the knobs and timer. There is actually quite a bit of empty space in the cabinet, but there is also the chance that a coin that has worked its way out of the inside of the drum to the inside of the cabinet could wind up getting tossed violently several times on different sides of the rotating drum as well as getting thrown into the belt drive motor and it would be not impossible for it to hit the drive belt and get stuck underneath it giving the coin a fast ride around the drum and violently thrown into the opposite side of the cabinet.

Here is an online diagram of the guts of a typical dryer.

Edited October 9, 2023 by powermad5000

[Hoghead515]

My dryer is simular to the one in the diagram. The only spots the coins can fall out of the tumbler is in the ends where the tumbler sits on bearings made of fabric. They also got cloth heat seals to hold heat in on each end. The bearings were worn on mine making it wobble unevenly. It also left small gaps where the coins made their way out.  Right at the end, the way the front piece is made, a coin could get trapped and rotate around it a few revolutions until it fell out. Thats what i figured happend to the cents I posted above. Wish I couldve found that dime again. It was worn down quite a bit. Most the coins were unharmed. I guess they just fell out pretty quick. I figured the ones with the heavy damage fell out the back part of the dryer and got into the motor pully or rollers. Not sure but they took some bad abuse. You could tell it was fresh and done by the dryer. 

[Mike Meenderink]

NOW WERE ALL GETTING ALONG!

[Hoghead515]

I said if I found the dime I would share it on here. I ended up finding the quarter and dime both.

[Hoghead515]

[J P M]

That's what they are suppose to look like. Your dryer works good for making dryer coins 

[powermad5000]

Interesting! So, adding these to the ones at the top of the thread, with the amount of coins that came out of your dryer, there is all different kinds and level of damage to them. It's not exactly a consistent style or type of damage. Looking at the last quarter just posted, if some random person just post that on here without the pic of the edge, and not knowing if it was a dryer coin, if those on here would be able to explain that kind of damage and get it correct as a dryer coin. The obverse still has the rim, the reverse does not. 

[Hoghead515]

On 10/23/2023 at 12:52 AM, powermad5000 said:

Interesting! So, adding these to the ones at the top of the thread, with the amount of coins that came out of your dryer, there is all different kinds and level of damage to them. It's not exactly a consistent style or type of damage. Looking at the last quarter just posted, if some random person just post that on here without the pic of the edge, and not knowing if it was a dryer coin, if those on here would be able to explain that kind of damage and get it correct as a dryer coin. The obverse still has the rim, the reverse does not. 

I dont know if it its size or what but it took the rim from the quarter and widened it out quite a bit on the dime. Could have been caught in a different area of the dryer also. Im not sure exactly.

[J P M]

On 10/23/2023 at 6:06 AM, Hoghead515 said:

I dont know if it its size or what but it took the rim from the quarter and widened it out quite a bit on the dime. Could have been caught in a different area of the dryer also. Im not sure exactly.

Yes some roll against the barrel and some get caught and spin with the barrel against the coin. it is easy for a coin to flip sideways and roll with the barrel. Just throw some change into those donation tornado holes at the store and watch it roll.