Is there anything I can do to help a bent coin?

I found this 1929-S cent searching a bag of dimes this morning its not in too bad shape but it is bent is there a way to straighten the coin out? Is it one to toss into the cull pile? Or still keep despite the bentness? Thank you CT!

 

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place it on a railroad track & wait for a train

I assume that you paid 10 cents a piece for the bag of dimes. Therefore, this 1 cent has cost 10 cents. Good luck bending it flat again.

You might consider squeezing it in a vise along with appropriately sized hard rubber spacers.

 

You ain't got that much to lose, so place it between 2 blocks of wood and wack away (hammer, of coarse). It may take more than one set of blocks and soft wood is less likely to damage the coin.

 

I like the vise idea , its more controllable than a hammer , but wood sounds better then rubber .
rzage

 

How about just put it on the ground and hammer it flat. See how thin you can make it while still retaining detail.

 

Any nearby railroad tracks available?

 

I have used a pile of rags, on top & bottom.

Then wack with a hammer.
The rags should cushion the coin.

 

I would leave it alone. I learned the hard way when I was a kid, only maybe 7-8 years old I found an 1899 Barber Quarter that had a similar bend. I tried to bend it using my hands and my teeth, and took a good sized chunk out of my one tooth. I still have the quarter somewhere, but the tooth is long gone.

 

Fortunately it's not a key or semi-key coin.
Take a shot at unbending it, but be prepared to replace it with something better.

 

This was going to be my suggestion. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.:hammer:

You just may learn something:crying: or :bigeyes: or or or !

 

You could use a vase. That outta bend it back into shape.

 

I prefer my VICES. Slow steady pressure. Surround it in a soft wood like apaint stirrer.


You'll break a vase.

 

Leather is often preferred to wood as it will do less damage to the rims ( or so I have heard) The leather should be at least half the thickness of the coin. It will still be noticeable as others have said, but it won't bug you as much.

Jim

 

Agreed, no matter what you do to this coin it will always be clear that it was at one time bent. Plus, it's a very common date so the bent example hasn't really lost any value. I would just leave it as it is.

However, if you do want to experiment on the coin have at it. Again, this is a very common date so you won't lose anything if you play around with it.

 

Many years ago I got a large cent that had a pretty bad bend, My father used a vice with lead sheets bent over on each of the jaws and straightened it out perfectly. It still has a rim nick, but still looks pretty good.

 

If the VASE is glass, this will not work well.

 

Note most replys suggest it will not work out well. However, they usually omit what I suggest. Heat. Take a butane torch, heat the coin until red hot, then slowly push back into shape with your fingers. :goof:
The RR track method would leave track marks. Jumping up and down on it on a concrete sidewalk helps but leave the concrete markings if not smooth concrete.
If you took lots of coins, bent them all similarly in a vice, then who would notice that one.
Place in a gun ball machine, yell to the owner that thier machine bent your coin, get a new coin from them.

 

Plus you will also have a permanent record of your work ... on your fingers (or thumb).

 

Interesting multiple mis-uses of the English language in this thread. FYI: