Why are there so many good looking 1964 cents still in circulation?

I run into 1964 Lincoln cents VERY often, and of course, I hoard them, with the rest of my copper cents, and I was just wondering, just about 90%-95% of them are nice and shiny, the rims are still so sharp and unworn, and I believe there were a LOT of 1964 proof sets, so what I was wondering is, do you guys think that people are cracking open these proof sets in these desperate times? Or is it just a random thing, that I am rinning into so many 1964 copper cents in good condition?

 

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I knew I lost that roll... I find them too.

 

Cents are the easiest of coins to hoard and lots of folks have some socked away. Some may even have 5 gallon water bottles full of them.

I expect that the reason you're seeing so many is due to the current economic conditions however, I doubt that what you're seeing are actually proof coins. More than likely, just coins that had been pulled from circulation and which are now being spent.

 

I agree with 19Lyds. I see them often too.

 

I can think of two potential factors:

1. There was a HUGE production run of cents. Lots more than any previous year. So any single cent didn't circulate as often.

2. 1964 was the last year for silver and the cents may have gotten caught up in the hoarding crush (was copper increasing in value too?)

AS AN ASIDE:
There also was a huge production run for 1964 nickels.
BUT
Look at 1964 nickels. Very hard to find a fully struck one. In fact average strikes are relatively less common.
I remember in the 70's being willing to bet that out of any randomly selected group of 5 nickels at least 3 would be dated 1964 -- and I'd win more often than not.

 

There were lots of them. I think they produced somewhere around 6.2 BILLION of the non-proof circulating ones. The production extended also until December 1965 when the mint decided to finally produce 1965 cents. The 1965 ones were minted until July 1966. That is what I have read.

6.2 billion is a lot of chances for the coins to make it to today unscathed. Maybe we can conclude the mint was right about people hoarding the 1964s.

 

Inadvertent double post.

 

I agree with what has been said so far. Many were produced and many were saved, perhaps as an artifact of silver coin hoarding. TC

 

Good answer. My opinion is that is was near the tail end of the "roll hoarding" craze, and while people were piling up rolls of halves and quarters that year, threw in quite a few nickels and cents as well.

When I first read this post I thought it would be why 1964 cents look so much better than current cents, a thought I agree with. Its really strange to look at them side by side and believe the mint considers them the same coin. We have lost 90% of the relief on this coin, and modern ones are really ugly in comparison.

 

may not be a 64 ,got this a thrift shop

 

Is that real or did someone fake it or did you photoshop?

 

i agree with you all

 

Not real, photoshop.