hello, I am new to this site, 18 years old and I began coin collecting several months ago. Yesterday my grandmother handed me a bag with some old coins, some silver dimes, and there was an Ike bicentennial half which i believe is an error coin. The reason I say this is that when I look at the rim of the coin it is unlike any coin I have seen before, it has ridges and all, but its like the top and bottom are not melted to the middle of the coin. It's hard to describe but if someone could just tell me what they think, I'd appreciate it. The last question I have has to do with a kennedy half that I have in my collection. I believe this is also an error. This coin has NO ridges on the side, it is a 1995 P. I have looked very closely to see if maybe they were grinded down, or just simply worn out. But that doesn't seem to be the case. It simply looks like there was never any ridges on this coin. HELP!!!
welcome to the board with the ike dollar, pictures would be helpful with the 1995 Kennedy, sorry - common coin with the reeded edges worn off. I heard that these were used in slot machines many times over. I get boxes of halves from my bank and its common to find halves in the 90's with no reeded edges like yours. Snowman
How do I upload pictures I just took some and am trying to upload them and it is saying file too large??
The Ike Dollar appears to have had an acid bath. The acid dissolves the soft copper core along the edge of the coin while the harder copper-nickel clad layers remain. So that would be damage, not an error.
Also, you should never hold a coin by the obverse and reverse as in your photo. It will leave fingerprints, and the oils from your skin will actually etch themselves into the metal. When holding a coin with your bare hands, always place the thumb and forefinger on the edge (the "third side" where you see the reeding). Chris
That's of course, they're acid bathed damaged coins like the one in the photo or circulated spending money. :yes:
