Where do coins go?!

Shannon Racutt · Aug 18, 2020

You seem like you know a lot about coins . And well I’m try to ask a question and was wondering if you might possibly be able to give me answer. I just started buying And collecting coins over the last 2Yrs. I have been told not to clean the coins. Which I can respect. However I have this Morgan that has icing all over it. And a couple of new West Point quarters that have stuff all over them. Is there anything I can do to clean these coins and still give the coins the respect that they deserve? Sorry to bother you and thank you for your time. Stay safe and well out there. —Shannon

Hobo said: ↑

Let's assume your estimate of 300 billion coins total produced by the US Mint over its 217-year history (not 230 years) is accurate. With a current population of about 300 million in the US that is about 1,000 coins per citizen. That is far from an overflowing Brink's truck per person.

For silver coinage practically all of it has been taken out of circulation. (Yes, it is possible to find a silver coin every now and then but most of those reenter cirulation by a child, thief or other unknowing person rather than having circulated continuously since being minted.) Many of the silver coins minted have been melted - a LOT of them by the Mint to recoin. How many Morgan and Seated Lib and Trade Dollars were melted under the Pittman Act? 230 million comes to mind. That's 230 million coins you can subtract from the total mintage right there that no longer exist. Add to that the untold numbers of other coins melted by the Mint in the 1850s (when the weight of silver coins - excepting dollars - was reduced) and in the 1870s when Large Cents, Half Cents, Flying Eagle Cents and Indian Head Cents were melted by the ton to be recoined into new Indian Head Cents. You need to deduct those millions and millions of coins from the total also.

How many coins have been melted over the years by private citizens? Millions and millions. How many have been made into jewelry? (Think about belts and hats decorated with Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes and Indian Head Cents that have had the obverse design cut out and made into bracelets, etc.) How many Cents have been smashed in machines that make elongated cents? How many Cents and other coins have been flattened by trains by kids over the years? And how many coins have simply been lost over the centuries? (I know the figure is a LOT based on my limited experience with a metal detector.) Whatever those add up to needs to be deducted from the total mintage figure.

Lastly, how many coins have been collected over the years? The answer is a LOT. There is another thread going now discussing saving bronze Memorial Cents - common, common, common coins but many people hoard them nonetheless.

I suggest that your figure of 1% of all coins ever minted by the US Mint having been lost, damaged or "hoarded" by collectors is WAY, WAY, WAY low.
Click to expand...

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Shannon Racutt · Aug 18, 2020

You seem like you know a lot about coins . And well I’m try to ask a question and was wondering if you might possibly be able to give me answer. I just started buying And collecting coins over the last 2Yrs. I have been told not to clean the coins. Which I can respect. However I have this Morgan that has icing all over it. And a couple of new West Point quarters that have stuff all over them. Is there anything I can do to clean these coins and still give the coins the respect that they deserve? Sorry to bother you and thank you for your time. Stay safe and well out there. —Shannon

Hobo said: ↑

Let's assume your estimate of 300 billion coins total produced by the US Mint over its 217-year history (not 230 years) is accurate. With a current population of about 300 million in the US that is about 1,000 coins per citizen. That is far from an overflowing Brink's truck per person.

For silver coinage practically all of it has been taken out of circulation. (Yes, it is possible to find a silver coin every now and then but most of those reenter cirulation by a child, thief or other unknowing person rather than having circulated continuously since being minted.) Many of the silver coins minted have been melted - a LOT of them by the Mint to recoin. How many Morgan and Seated Lib and Trade Dollars were melted under the Pittman Act? 230 million comes to mind. That's 230 million coins you can subtract from the total mintage right there that no longer exist. Add to that the untold numbers of other coins melted by the Mint in the 1850s (when the weight of silver coins - excepting dollars - was reduced) and in the 1870s when Large Cents, Half Cents, Flying Eagle Cents and Indian Head Cents were melted by the ton to be recoined into new Indian Head Cents. You need to deduct those millions and millions of coins from the total also.

How many coins have been melted over the years by private citizens? Millions and millions. How many have been made into jewelry? (Think about belts and hats decorated with Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes and Indian Head Cents that have had the obverse design cut out and made into bracelets, etc.) How many Cents have been smashed in machines that make elongated cents? How many Cents and other coins have been flattened by trains by kids over the years? And how many coins have simply been lost over the centuries? (I know the figure is a LOT based on my limited experience with a metal detector.) Whatever those add up to needs to be deducted from the total mintage figure.

Lastly, how many coins have been collected over the years? The answer is a LOT. There is another thread going now discussing saving bronze Memorial Cents - common, common, common coins but many people hoard them nonetheless.

I suggest that your figure of 1% of all coins ever minted by the US Mint having been lost, damaged or "hoarded" by collectors is WAY, WAY, WAY low.
Click to expand...

Shannon Racutt · Aug 18, 2020

You seem like you know a lot about coins . And well I’m try to ask a question and was wondering if you might possibly be able to give me answer. I just started buying And collecting coins over the last 2Yrs. I have been told not to clean the coins. Which I can respect. However I have this Morgan that has icing all over it. And a couple of new West Point quarters that have stuff all over them. Is there anything I can do to clean these coins and still give the coins the respect that they deserve? Sorry to bother you and thank you for your time. Stay safe and well out there. —Shannon

Hobo said: ↑

Let's assume your estimate of 300 billion coins total produced by the US Mint over its 217-year history (not 230 years) is accurate. With a current population of about 300 million in the US that is about 1,000 coins per citizen. That is far from an overflowing Brink's truck per person.

For silver coinage practically all of it has been taken out of circulation. (Yes, it is possible to find a silver coin every now and then but most of those reenter cirulation by a child, thief or other unknowing person rather than having circulated continuously since being minted.) Many of the silver coins minted have been melted - a LOT of them by the Mint to recoin. How many Morgan and Seated Lib and Trade Dollars were melted under the Pittman Act? 230 million comes to mind. That's 230 million coins you can subtract from the total mintage right there that no longer exist. Add to that the untold numbers of other coins melted by the Mint in the 1850s (when the weight of silver coins - excepting dollars - was reduced) and in the 1870s when Large Cents, Half Cents, Flying Eagle Cents and Indian Head Cents were melted by the ton to be recoined into new Indian Head Cents. You need to deduct those millions and millions of coins from the total also.

How many coins have been melted over the years by private citizens? Millions and millions. How many have been made into jewelry? (Think about belts and hats decorated with Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes and Indian Head Cents that have had the obverse design cut out and made into bracelets, etc.) How many Cents have been smashed in machines that make elongated cents? How many Cents and other coins have been flattened by trains by kids over the years? And how many coins have simply been lost over the centuries? (I know the figure is a LOT based on my limited experience with a metal detector.) Whatever those add up to needs to be deducted from the total mintage figure.

Lastly, how many coins have been collected over the years? The answer is a LOT. There is another thread going now discussing saving bronze Memorial Cents - common, common, common coins but many people hoard them nonetheless.

I suggest that your figure of 1% of all coins ever minted by the US Mint having been lost, damaged or "hoarded" by collectors is WAY, WAY, WAY low.
Click to expand...

Shannon Racutt · Aug 18, 2020

You seem like you know a lot about coins . And well I’m try to ask a question and was wondering if you might possibly be able to give me answer. I just started buying And collecting coins over the last 2Yrs. I have been told not to clean the coins. Which I can respect. However I have this Morgan that has icing all over it. And a couple of new West Point quarters that have stuff all over them. Is there anything I can do to clean these coins and still give the coins the respect that they deserve? Sorry to bother you and thank you for your time. Stay safe and well out there. —Shannon

Hobo said: ↑

Let's assume your estimate of 300 billion coins total produced by the US Mint over its 217-year history (not 230 years) is accurate. With a current population of about 300 million in the US that is about 1,000 coins per citizen. That is far from an overflowing Brink's truck per person.

For silver coinage practically all of it has been taken out of circulation. (Yes, it is possible to find a silver coin every now and then but most of those reenter cirulation by a child, thief or other unknowing person rather than having circulated continuously since being minted.) Many of the silver coins minted have been melted - a LOT of them by the Mint to recoin. How many Morgan and Seated Lib and Trade Dollars were melted under the Pittman Act? 230 million comes to mind. That's 230 million coins you can subtract from the total mintage right there that no longer exist. Add to that the untold numbers of other coins melted by the Mint in the 1850s (when the weight of silver coins - excepting dollars - was reduced) and in the 1870s when Large Cents, Half Cents, Flying Eagle Cents and Indian Head Cents were melted by the ton to be recoined into new Indian Head Cents. You need to deduct those millions and millions of coins from the total also.

How many coins have been melted over the years by private citizens? Millions and millions. How many have been made into jewelry? (Think about belts and hats decorated with Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes and Indian Head Cents that have had the obverse design cut out and made into bracelets, etc.) How many Cents have been smashed in machines that make elongated cents? How many Cents and other coins have been flattened by trains by kids over the years? And how many coins have simply been lost over the centuries? (I know the figure is a LOT based on my limited experience with a metal detector.) Whatever those add up to needs to be deducted from the total mintage figure.

Lastly, how many coins have been collected over the years? The answer is a LOT. There is another thread going now discussing saving bronze Memorial Cents - common, common, common coins but many people hoard them nonetheless.

I suggest that your figure of 1% of all coins ever minted by the US Mint having been lost, damaged or "hoarded" by collectors is WAY, WAY, WAY low.
Click to expand...

lordmarcovan · Aug 19, 2020

Shannon Racutt said: ↑

You seem like you know a lot about coins . And well I’m try to ask a question and was wondering if you might possibly be able to give me answer. I just started buying And collecting coins over the last 2Yrs. I have been told not to clean the coins. Which I can respect. However I have this Morgan that has icing all over it. And a couple of new West Point quarters that have stuff all over them. Is there anything I can do to clean these coins and still give the coins the respect that they deserve? Sorry to bother you and thank you for your time. Stay safe and well out there. —Shannon
Click to expand...

Hi, Shannon. You've somehow managed to dig up and reply to an eleven-year-old thread.

Which isn't to suggest that all of the information in it is obsolete- but you'd have better luck getting replies if you started your own topic.

Welcome.

John Burgess · Aug 19, 2020

I read somewhere the average american is holding $37.00 in coin change at home, the car and pockets if they gathered it all up.

Also read somewhere if you walked to soda machines car washes, laundromats, places people frequent in a 1 mile or so radius of where you are, you'll average about $5.00 in change people drop lose or leave behind daily and if you saved it up it would be like $20K in 10 years. (Your results may vary, location, location, location).

Also read the government has enough $100 bills in circulation right now that ever man, woman and child in America can hold on to 41 bills each before it runs out.

So where's the change? Literally it's everywhere.

Goldsayshi463 · Aug 19, 2020

since most coins are made of alloys that have reactive metals like copper so that they slowly corrode away
reactive metals: Other metals used:
-copper -nickel (can oxidize in a thin film but cant under oils like from
-tin humans
-zinc
-silver (it tarnishes
to silver {II} oxide
which is is black)
~manganese (it
slowly oxidizes so
its a maybe)
Alloys make (a) certain metal(s) lower or higher the melting point and/or lower the oxidization rate. But most metals wont really react to oils, if they do it's at high temperature. They actually react to oxygen than get covered by people's dirty oils on their skin. Also its a low chance of a coin "dying" to corrosion. Pennies (type: Zincolns) have the highest chance of drying to corrosion.

plz this took me hours of research.

Goldsayshi463 · Aug 19, 2020

.

Indianhead65 · Aug 19, 2020

Have you checked your clothes dryer? haha

Conder101 · Aug 20, 2020

Right now there are 90 coins sitting on the laptop in front of me. (Not including a Vermont copper that happens to be there as well.)

Trp · Aug 22, 2020

Don't forget the old cars!

http://www.globalmetalsandcoinrecovery.com/exchange-scrap---damaged-coins.html

Corn Man · Aug 22, 2020

Well the older designs get hoarded in mass like what happened to the wheat cent and what is currently happening to the copper memorial cents and silver. But alot of it is just sitting in grand paps coin bucket he will never take to the bank. Nor let me look through.

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Where do coins go?!

Shannon Racutt New Member

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Shannon Racutt New Member

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Shannon Racutt New Member

lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

John Burgess Well-Known Member

Goldsayshi463 the person who says "hi" all the time

Goldsayshi463 the person who says "hi" all the time

Indianhead65 Well-Known Member

Conder101 Numismatist

Trp Junior Member

Corn Man Well-Known Member

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Where do coins go?!

Shannon Racutt New Member

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lordmarcovan 48-year collector Moderator

John Burgess Well-Known Member

Goldsayshi463 the person who says "hi" all the time

Goldsayshi463 the person who says "hi" all the time

Indianhead65 Well-Known Member

Conder101 Numismatist

Trp Junior Member

Corn Man Well-Known Member

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