Do you think well circulated coins have more history?

I was looking at one of my coins yesterday and it is heavily circulated and I couldn’t afford to buy it in a higher grade..

But then I thought if it’s well circulated that must mean it’s passed through a lot more hands and wasn’t just handed down through the generations after being kept in an attic for centuries.

If it is well circulated it seems to me that a coin has more of a story to tell because it was being used in day to day transactions of the time.

So maybe there is something good about coins having some circulation wear on them.

Or maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better. xD

What do you think?

 

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I think coins with interesting history (counterstamps, etc) have their own charm. I wouldn't ever call wear an advantage, but worn coins are usually so much more affordable than their pristine counterparts that I don't need any additional inducement to buy them. I also have a soft spot for holed and ex-jewelry mounted coins, as well as love tokens. Also, worn coins are less likely to be fakes!

Below: A selection of worn, marked, defaced, holed or mounted coins

 

A toned ( even dark toned) EF45 is perfect to me. I don't find anything impressive with coins that didn't do what they were intended to do.

 

I guess I just meant circulation wear not so much damages or holes.

I was just asking myself would I want a coin that spent centuries in an attic and looks good? Or one that’s in VF condition because it circulated all over among hundreds of people and who knows who might of held it?

Obviously a higher grade coin is always better.

Im just saying maybe there is a silver lining in the lower grade stuff too. Something to view as a positive of the coin.

 

So you don’t like this kind of stuff?



I know it’s a nice coin. It’s not mine but it just seems like the kind of coin that didnt circulate outside of a family.

 

No, I think you're absolutely right - it's a matter of collector temperament, not rationalization. Also, while some worn coins are undeniably ugly, other worn examples of the same issue can have very striking eye appeal. Personally I enjoy the game of searching out the most appealing example of a low-grade coin. You can evolve your personalized set of criteria for deciding which coins meet your standard and which don't. And if, like me, you don't care much for slabs, you can have the pleasure of holding the coin just as others did, 20 or 200 or 2000 years ago, without worrying about damaging it. What's not to like?

 

No. I never liked or disliked Morgans.

 

This is the coin I was looking at when I thought about it. (below)

When I see this coin it’s in low condition but then I realized it meant that it probably was held by many people of that time and used in day to day circulation.

Maybe a Founding Father held it? Maybe George Washington? Or some other prominent American historical figure of that era? Who knows?

I do like slabs on my coins but mostly because it gives me confidence that it’s real and it prevents me from damaging it by dropping it or something.

But I do understand why some people don’t like them.

I do have some unslabbed stuff too though.

 

People make up stories about their coins every day on SleazeBay!

 

There are some silver coins that get a nice patina and look on circulated pieces.

 

Im not saying people should make up stories. I’m just saying it’s likely well circulated coins touched more hands and more likely to have been owned by a prominent historical figure.

Or even just a bunch of normal people is cool too. People that lived long ago in a different world with different problems.

 

That 1799 dollar is a stunner. It has beauty and dignity and a tangible connection with everyone who ever spent it. I will never disparage anyone for wanting the very best mint state specimens, which certainly show the artists' and engravers' skills to fullest advantage and best reflect their intentions. But I won't go so far as to say that "obviously a higher grade coin is always better". Especially since some technically high-grade coins can show very poorly.

 

I'm not suggesting that you would, but it is commonplace on SleazeBay!

This came from my dad's collection.

This came from my Grandpa's collection.

My Grandma carried this coin all through the Normandy Invasion and Guadalcanal!

 

Thanks! It’s the first coin I ever spent more than $1K on that wasn’t bullion.

Because to me it had that tangible connection with a lot of people of that time. Right when America was born.

Oh and when I said “obviously higher grade is better”, I just meant in terms of monetary value xD.

Like an AU55 1799 DBD will always sell for more than mine no matter how bad the eye appeal might be.

 

Sometimes I like to try and imagine how many hands touched some of my older coins. How hard did someone work for it? Where'd they spend it? What did they buy? Etc. Like walls, what stories could these coins tell?

 

I just make the stories up in my head xD.

I tell myself “This might have been held by George Washington. Or John Adams. Or even by a bunch of normal Americans with a lot of stories to tell.

But I know it would be wrong to sell it to someone and say “this DID belong to John Adams.”

 

I have a worn shilling of Elizabeth I. It may have passed through Shakespeare's hands, or not. But if it spent part of its working life in London, the odds that it was handled by someone who attended one of Shakespeare's plays, which were very popular, or saw him in the street at some point in his 25-year career, are actually not bad. If the coin were mint state, the odds of this would of course be much less.

 

It’s even cooler when you get into Ancients!

That goes back to like 600BC!

Coinage does anyway. Money did exist before that just so noone comes to correct me with spade money and cowry shells.

 

Who knows? Maybe Shakespeare got it in change when he bought a pint of beer at the tavern.

 

I just bought a trade token of a South Carolina doctor who advertised as a physician and druggist. He was with some people once that got into street street gun fight. Four people got wounded. Some of them were wearing steel plates under their clothes. Ten years later he was making a house call and someone else in the house attacked him. He ended up shooting the guy four times. I just love the bizarreness of this token. It's not exactly the life style you'd expect of a doctor.