Smoothed coins

I hadn't heard of "smoothing" labels on graded coins before, so thanks for this post Sam.

 

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I have been collecting smoothed coins in the UK for many years now.
The ones I collect were usually owned by shove ha’penny players.
Bronze Halfpence were used to slide along a marked smooth wooden board, to end up between lateral line markings.
The lucky player would take the pot of bets made by the players.
It is not unusual to find these coins worn flat, or smoothed, by years of playing Shove Ha’penny.
It was not uncommon for a player to own the same coin for playing, all his life.
They are rare, and I find them interesting, especially those only worn on one side, with the ob/reverse in nice condition.
I only have less than a dozen game smoothed coins.
Pub gaming and gambling has been illegal since before WW2, and hence
Most of the coins I have found date from 1860’s to 1920’s.

 

@charley, then why bother to post? Sometimes humor is appropriate: "In a PGGS eye" is an Oscar winning reply! Other times it may not be. Smoothing has been defined. It is NOT putting a foreign substance on a coin's surface. You need to remember that you know more than a lot of folks. While your question is a good one, it has nothing to do with smoothing and may confuse members who are not as smart as you are.

 

thanks...are such tools usually mechanized? I've seen some whizzed coins which really perplexed me as to why anyone would do something which so obviously degraded a coin. But some "smoothed" coins don't look so bad.

 

You have to go back to the 1970s with respect to whizzing. When it's done "right", it simulates mint luster. It was a way to turn AUs or so-so Mint State pieces into bright white "BUs." Back in the '70s, people liked bright white.

 

Thanks. I keep learning valuable things from you guys!

 

I don't think you mean @Mountain Man, possibly @charley That's why it's good to use the respond feature.

 

As long as your happy with the usually curmudgeon act. I need to remember? What, exactly?

Mimicking one of your favorite replies to members, and paraphasing, why not answer the question? Why is it not germane? Because you didn't point it out?
Is smoothing only removal of metal? Answer the question. It is defined by who? You? You have been around as long as I have, and you know darn well the coin doctors filled in to balance the smoothing and hide differential appearance.

Is it appropriate humor to use PGGS (implying pigs) for PCGS? Remember, you did exactly that on another board a few years ago for the chuckles. Stop the "I am offended" Clown act. Pull it on someone else.

BALONEY (caps are fun, it makes it seem like it is important, when it is not).

I wonder, is it possible you may be a little miffed I recently mentioned your posts on another Board a few years ago?

Pull somebody's chain that cares for your Frazier's Dad act.

Nice try with the condescending touch, though.

 

@charley

Another Oscar winning post. Bravo!

As a very happy fellow member of CT, I have no clue who you are or what you've ever posted here or on other boards but now I understand why some members hide their profile. Please understand that NOTHING (caps ) you can write would offend me personally. However, I do feel very sad when I or anyone fails to understand something I or fellow numismatists here take our time to explained in detail. Unfortunately, it seems that we have not explained "smoothing" simply enough.

Metal is compressed, NOT removed. Now, if some clown wants to get down to the atomic level...then as you wrote: I'm wrong, wrong, wrong!

BTW, I didn't invent burnishing or define it. However, an educated numismatist should probably need to understand the process. I didn't "coin" that weasel word "smoothing" either. I despise it and any weasel using it!.

As for "In a PGGS eye," it would take a really mind to think that the wonderful play on words you wrote EVEN IMPLIES that the professionals at that TPGS are pigs! That thought would be sad.

Best Regards!

 

OK. But thanks.

 

Aside from the aforementioned methods, another way that the surface can be altered is by "thumbing" (with or without the use of a foreign substance; e.g. nose oil) wherein the thumb is moved in a back-and-forth or circular pattern while applying some pressure. Performing "thumbing" will tend to smooth out the surfaces by some slight movement of surface metal due to friction and shearing pressure, and if oils naturally present on the human hand (or added as from the nose or forehead) are present, these oils (or putty) will fill in minor scratches and also tend to make the overall surface more uniform. If the coin originally had some mint luster then performing the "thumbing" will tend to alter the metal flow lines and reduce--or if overly done--eliminate the luster and leave an overall satiny finish.

 

Am I the only person here who does not believe that thumbing (unless done constantly over a long period of time due to actual wear) will cause any visible MOVEMENT of a metal surface?

 

if I putty a piece, is it "smoothing", or just soothing? Smoothing does not require or limit itself to, removal/moving metal.
Both can occur on a doctored piece.

Just my opinion. I am of course wrong, wrong, wrong.......

For those who don't know what putty is, here is a picture.



Coin doctors use a filler, like Bondo or some other body plastic to fill in scratches. Then they cover their work with gold paint. The trouble is, it's not permanent. The paint can't cover it up forever, and it shows through.

This is not as bad as smoothing or burnishing. The piece can have the Bondo removed, and after that, the coin might be gradeable. This procedure does not involve moving metal.

 

Coin "doctors" put all kinds of stuff on a coin's surface to make them look better. IMO, SO FAR all of these substances can be detected by one means or another. It can be as easy as lightly touching the altered coin's surface and feeling a sticky substance.

Many of the alterations change color over time. It coin above is a very extreme case done by a dope who did not know how to correctly alter a coin. There is a million to ten chance that you'll ever get to see another blotched job like it.

 

I think there can be another definition of smoothing, one not implying artificial ways of changing the coin's surface.

Especially for collectors of old copper coins--early American cents, Fugios, colonial coinage, and other types--"smoothing" may refer to the normal wear, usually of lower grades of sharpness AG3-VG8, where there is no corrosion of the coin.

Coins not considered "smooth" may have various kinds of corrosion, verdigris being one such kind. "Rough" coins are often corroded coins. There is no way to know if and how the corrosion might continue, although it can be slowed or held in abeyance by a dry and airtight microenvironment, such as coins in an airtight Tupperware with silicon desiccant inside the container.

Many collectors may prefer such a lower sharpness grade "smooth" coin to higher level sharpness coins where there is corrosion or even a hint that corrosion may be starting.

With such "smooth" coins, one might consider them to have "provenance of American history." Just imagine how such a coin has been a time-traveler.

 

THIS: differential, posted: "I think there can be another definition of smoothing, one not implying artificial ways of changing the coin's surface."

...is EXACTLY the problem with just about everything.

Understand? It's like I think a linear foot can be thought of as 10 3/4 inches. NO; NO; NO; NO; NO; and heck NO!

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to stir things up. Just seems to me that the word "smooth" could have an informal meeting other than the definition of TPGs. As you have more experience and knowledge, I will defer to your judgment.

 

I am interested in the photos of the UK half pence coins.
Lots of good information in this thread.