Any success with "pocket circulation"?

[shirohniichan]

I bought a harshly cleaned 1936 silver dollar (before you all pounce on me, it's Canadian) and have used it over the past couple years as a pocket piece. Instead of a harshly cleaned AU coin, it's now a nice looking VF.

 

Has anyone had any luck "conserving" a cleaned US coin by using it as a pocket piece?

 

I've been looking for a nice VF to EF 1876 half dollar for a while, but they're either overgraded or cleaned. I'm wondering if I'd do better to buy one of those harshly cleaned, net-graded ANACS "EF" coins from a Heritage auction and make it into a natural-looking VF coin instead of searching unsuccessfully for a normally circulated one.

 

(Even if I found one with apparently natural wear, how could I tell it wasn't a harshly cleaned coin made into a pocket piece?)

[lkenefic]

 

Why not just buy an un-messed-with VF coin... save money and time

[shirohniichan]

 

Why not just buy an un-messed-with VF coin... save money and time

 

I've been looking for a nice VF to EF 1876 half dollar for a while, but they're either overgraded or cleaned.

[lkenefic]

Perhaps I'm just out of touch with this series... But wouldn't you be spending more money in the long-run if you purchased an "AU-details- netted XF" coin rather than just waiting for the VF coin to come around? Or are un-messed with VFs commanding premiums?

 

Another thing to consider... what if you dropped your experiment and ended up with a huge rim ding.

[TomB]

I've carried around silver coinage in my pocket and one thing I have noticed over time is that if no other change, currency or paper is kept in the pocket with the coin that the coin starts to appear polished. This seems to make sense since inner cotton pocket would be buffing the coin. Therefore, I always keep some other silver coinage, a few copper cents and one or two dollar bills in the pocket along with any change that is wearing down.

[bsshog40]

I keep a badly damaged (self inflicted) Moragn in my pocket. It is starting to get some luster back to it. As Tom stated, my pockets shinin'er up!!

[shirohniichan]

Perhaps I'm just out of touch with this series... But wouldn't you be spending more money in the long-run if you purchased an "AU-details- netted XF" coin rather than just waiting for the VF coin to come around? Or are un-messed with VFs commanding premiums?

 

The real VF coins I have seen at Long Beach are in 2x2s marked "EF45" and priced as such. Net graded EF coins are generally less expensive.

 

I've kept my Canadian silver dollar in my pocket with modern clad coins and zinc cents. Now it looks like a naturally circulated coin instead of the harshly cleaned piece of crud I bought for $7.50 a few years ago. I'd never seen one in lower than EF/AU before and was curious to see what one would look like in F to VF.

 

In the beginning the silver dollar did look polished, and the grunge around the serifs looked like jewelers' rouge (as if someone had polished it on a jewelers' wheel). After a couple of years the grunge turned black and the polished look went away.

[TJ'S Coins]

Is it better to have poor XF or a better VF specimen?

 

I carried a 1980 Kennedy half in my pocket for several months. It removed the darker toning, made it look shiny and bright but also revealed countless hairlines.

[shirohniichan]

I'd rather pay more for a nice VF specimen than get a cheap, ugly EF (unless I can get an ugly EF for a lot less and have it wear down to a nice VF).

[cladking]

I used to wear down lots of coins.

 

Copper coins that are only lightly cleaned don't even have to be worn. Just rinse them in acetone so they darken evenly and set them in a warm area. In a few weeks they'll look fine though might need a little thumbing.

 

Most light cleanings can be worn off with about a third of a grade and the worst ones rarely take more than two grades.

 

There are even tricks to speed up the process if you want to get rid of severe gouges on portraits.

 

Some people might consider this doctoring coins but really you're fixing them and restoring them to a natural state from an unnatural state usually caused by inexperienced collectors. It was always a real pleasure to watch a coin come back right before your eyes.

[lkenefic]

I'd rather pay more for a nice VF specimen than get a cheap, ugly EF (unless I can get an ugly EF for a lot less and have it wear down to a nice VF).

 

I wish I had taken this approach to my 1909-S IHC. I bought an AU-details coin that was netted down to VF35 (ANACS) for corrosion. I didn't think the corrosion was all that bad when I purchased it at a steep discount. If you look at it under 30x magnification, there is definitely micro-porosity over the entire coin and it is a dark chocolate color. However, two years later... every time I look at that coin I now wish I had held out for a choice VF coin instead of an AU with "issues".