Here's a Barber Quarter, don't remember where or when I got it but I've had it for some time! I took it to my LCS just to make sure it was genuine and it tested right on for a US Barber Quarter!! My LCS guy thinks its real and I do as well. Any guesses on how it got so worn out?? Anyone else have a coin that is worn beyond belief?
It's quite simple, really. This coin was allowed to freely circulate likely into the 1940's or 1950's. Such coins would be a lot more common if they weren't withdrawn from circulation in contemporary times and melted by the government or removed by coin dealers and the like and melted down for bullion over the past 4-5 decades. Yours slipped through the cracks. I remember in the 1990's going to a local coin shop where the dealer had a large tray full of well worn and dateless Standing Liberty quarters. I'd imagine most dealers wouldn't bother trying to sell these and just send them off to be melted down. What this does is give the impression that well-worn coins are an anomaly for getting so worn when in fact a great majority saw a lot of heavy wear like this. However, most are just permanently removed and destroyed with dealers typically offering nicer examples to collectors.
But it has to be a little more complicated than that, because 1892 to 1950 is 58 years, and 58 years ago today is 1962. Have you seen a 1962 cent or nickel that worn? I don't think I've ever seen a clad quarter worn down as low as Good, never mind Poor. I think it's just that the face value of our circulating coins has become trivial, so they don't circulate as many times per year or decade. When's the last time you had a total purchase ring up less than a dollar? Everything goes to folding money these days, or plastic. Change is for jars, and then CoinStars.
That is very true, Randy. And I like coins that had to work for a living. In the late 40's and early 50's a quarter was a quarter and it meant something. The economy was a mess right after WW II and the piggy bank was a good source for meeting expenses. At that time every coin ever produced for circulation could be found in your change. I got a 20 Cent piece in change one time. The old silver started to disappear in 1964. At that time everyone became a collector - collector of silver.
My dad had a friend who carried a "pocket piece" around. He swore it started off as a Morgan silver dollar back in the 1960's, but what I saw was a smooth piece of silver. No trace of anything was left on the piece of metal. That was probably the most severe I have seen wear.
This is the most worn, but still identifiable coin I have. It was with a bunch of US and World coins passed through my family and eventually to me. It appears to be a Classic Head cent, but the date is completely missing. [EDIT] replaced crappy photo with scans, to better show how sorry this coin is!
I was straining to look at the profile and thinking, "Could it possibly be a Coronet Head Cent (instead of Classic Head)?"
In the old days coins really circulated: Spanish America 2 Reales 1776 Mexico City mint Silver, 27 mm, 5.66 gm This worn coin weighs 5.66 gm and it is 84% of what a new coin would have weighed at 6.77 gm.
