I told the story before but for a new member it might be worth reading again. When I was in army basic training in 1965, the vending machines for candy and soft drinks on the base would not accept dimes. That's because basic recruits and trainees were known to file cents down to the size of dimes, and this despite the fact that training started at dawn and went to sundown, then lights out at 10:00, when would they have the time? Of course that would be like getting a 90% discount on your coke or root beer, and since all of the machines near the barracks sold the soft drinks for 5¢, that means you would be making money every time you put your filed-down cent into the machine. I often wondered where these guys got their files, too.
Seems like those recruits and trainees were very basic. Filing cents down into "dimes" would be risking a lot. Were those guys gamblingaholics ??? As for where those files appeared from, if I knew, LA_Geezer, I would gladly tell you !!!
Filing a cent down to dime size would require a lot of danged work for a gain of $.09. In the mid sixties minimum wage was $1.35.That means one would have had to do fifteen per hour just to make minimum wage. You'd have to make it smaller in diameter and thinner too. And I doubt that it would work even then because vending machines, even back in the fifties and sixties, do a bounce test to insure the coin is made of the right material. These days most machines even weigh the coins. Other than that it's a pretty good story.
And true to the point, thanks to the warnings of punishment if caught around the post, Fort Jackson, SC. As for time, some of us slept after Lights Out, others smoked and joked in the latrine, the only place in the barracks where lighting was allowed after 22:00.
Or wrote to loved ones. Thanks for your service. My loved one never made it back. My heart goes out to all vets. I keep telling myself that all our losses were just. I really do believe that!!!
Welcome to CT Heather. If the first two coins shown are different coins, it would appear that the damage was from a coin roll machine. When the coin is on the very end, the machine that crimps the paper roll often damages that coin.
I bet with a bench grinder and a pair of vice-grips to hold the coin one could make a dime slug in about a minute.
Hello everyone I know that I have no idea how to tell if I have anything worth money sorry very much new to this please help I don't even know how to upload a picture
Do you think you have an error? Most coins in circulation are damaged and new collectors assume they are errors. Also many known errors are minor and have very little or no premium at all.. If you are hoping to make a lot of money it won't happen just like that. Also.. This is an old thread. You should start your own unique thread with pictures. Don't create the thread over at the What's it Worth? Forum. Use the Error Coins forum!