Hopefully most coins will never fall into this category. (Read all the pages on the article): http://www.thestreet.com/story/10863800/1/5-completely-worthless-collectibles.html# guy
I'll let the story stay because of the mention of the Franklin Mint issues, which are not coins but at do least have a numismatic relationship. But to readers - this story has nothing to do with coins.
Thank you for reading the article. I think it may be cautionary tale as many people have a fascination with "first strike" coins, "colorized" coins and currency, and high graded modern common coinage. Just a thought. guy
To add: There were some "Pewter reproduction" medals issued by the US mint in the 70's for the War of Independance Generals (part of the accumulation I am going through. Worth practically nothing.
I picked up a complete collection (in mint packaging) for about a dollar apiece. They're nice and unusual, but I don't see their value going up anytime soon.
Great article! A friend of the family actually collects those Lladro porcelain figurines and has a massive display case of them, keeping them with the goal of increasing their value down the road... I've been telling him for years that it's a bad idea.
I've always had a burning hatred for any coin-like item offered by the National Collector's Mint, the Franklin Mint or any of these other keepsake companies. I guess I dislike seeing the dishonesty so close to a cherished, personal pastime. I used to help behind the counter in a coin store and I always felt so bad for people bringing in this junk to sell. You'd tell them what it was honestly worth and have to deal with A) "I know what I paid for this! You're trying to cheat me!" B) a sad look and a disappointed "thanks..."
The related link on the site is also worth a read: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10929283/1/5-sleazy-gold-coin-scams.html
Bit of a chemistry nut my self, I do believe it is nearly impossible to remove just copper without using cyanide. IMO, most of these "altered" zinc cents are mint "forgot to plate" errors. Please correct me if I am wrong!
Not sure I see the conection between your comments and the topic of this thread. Are you suggesting that modern unplated zinc cents are worthless collectibles ?
Oh man, I had a girlfriend who collected precious moments figurines. I spent a fortune on that. But I got what I wanted *wink