Greetings. Let me start by confessing I am not a collector in the traditional sense. I hope all are well in this trying time. With all my free time I have been going through some odds and ends and found a box with some large copper liberty pennies. One on casual glance seems to be missing a digit in the year. "185" is obvious, but it seems as though the "ones" year place is missing. Then through a loupe it seems like there might be a suggestion of a 6, but not raised. Then there is the scratches on the face. So did my dad decide to chisel off the "6" in his youth? These have been in a box untouched for more than 60 years. Thanks.
Welcome to the forum. Finding an untouched sixty year old “treasure” box is a joy unmatched. You do have a large cent there and it is certainly a piece of history. A numismatist (fancy name for coin collector) would consider your coin damaged goods. The deep scratches across the obverse sealed that judgment. And it would be a fair assumption that whoever put those scratches there also ground away the last digit. Copper is a very soft metal and easy to manipulate. Only the person that did the damage could tell you why..... Still is a spectacular piece of history though. Nice find!
Thanks for the quick reply! Unfortunately my Dad is not around any longer to ask about why the heck he chiseled a six off of a penny. But it sounds like something he would have done. I also found these, and in another sleeve a 1904 and 1911 20$ gold. This will make me keep looking through the boxes and envelopes of stuff from his attic.
Just a brief word of caution. To a new collector it would seem perfectly natural to want your coins to be clean and shiny. Please do not succumb to that temptation! Particularly with the gold double eagles you have found. An experienced collector can identify a cleaned coin in a second and will turn away from it. Cleaning coins will destroy any inherent value. There are acceptable methods employed by experts but that’s a subject for another time. With gold at the level it currently is, each of your double eagles will be worth $1400.00 - $1500.00 each at minimum. Find something safe to store them in that will avoid abrasion until you can get to a coin dealer that’s can sell you some appropriate protection..... I am an old US gold lover. Do you have photos of them?
Hey Doug, welcome to CT! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. Can you show us pictures of the $20 gold pieces? Thanks.
Well, not sure about decent pictures....I put the gold in the safe deposit box. But I took a few quick pictures of them so I could see what I could find out about them. I did find out from my brother that my Mom bought those. She was not a collector of any type. I am sure she was buying the gold. These pictures are a little flared out, but I do see some scratching on the 1904. I’m sure my Mom just tossed them in a drawer until she too put them in a safe deposit box.
All the coins you posted are original, some are great while others are damaged. Do not attempt to clean them as that will cause more damage. Welcome to CT.
Welcome to the neighborhood @Doug Coleman. You have a great find of old coins. Most of us here would love to have them. Handle them by their edges to avoid fingerprints and do not do any type of cleaning. Keep us informed of what you find out and do with these please.
The OP coin is damaged and it's a cull. The coins in post #3 (The portrait on the 46 looks wonky, but could be the bad angle) all looked harshly cleaned. Your gold will be OK as it has at least gold value or more.
Welcome to the neighborhood! I knew a Doug Coleman back in my high school days (Class of '65) at Richard Montgomery HS in Rockville, MD. Any relation to you? ~ Chris
