I'm seeing adds in Coin World where they are selling, for big bucks, the waffled coins that the mint makes, to cancel the defective coins. I'm interested in the Boards thoughts on these defaced coins. Personally I can't imagine paying for them, especially folding money. JonySky
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is something unusual, so some find it collectable, even if it is damaged. I have kept a dime that I removed from a garbage disposal, just because it is interesting to see how damaged it was. As a child, I put pennies on railroad tracks to watch them get flattened (hope none of them were key wheaties). I see nothing wrong with it, you can collect whatever you want.
Personally I think waffled coins should be avoided. In my mind, this is a fad, maybe a scam. If the knowledgeable collector will carefully avoid a cleaned coin, or a coin with a rim nick, what possible attraction and value could a heavily damaged coin provide?
I saw some at the show selling for $75...but I know a guy that got his for $25. I don't think these are going to stay at the price they are now...give them a year or two and see what they are then. Speedy
>> Look at this one << It's a technique used to demonetize coins without melthing them. You'll have to ask an expert in beaurocracy why it's better to buy machinery and pay people to operate it in order to uglify coins instead of just melting them down.
"You'll have to ask an expert in beaurocracy why it's better to buy machinery and pay people to operate it in order to uglify coins instead of just melting them down." According to the article I posted, it is so they don't have to guard them between the Mint and the smelter, when they are trucked away to be melted down.
The mint sells the scrap to a private firm. When the scrap metal leaves the mint it then becomes property of the private firm. Why try to melt down junk metal? The cost would be more than the scrap is worth not to mention our coins are CLAD which means more than one metal is involved so it is easier to sell to a junk dealer who specializes in such endeavors. Now the coins are "waffled" to destroy any possible value they may have. They are not doing it to demonitize the coin. Until a coin gets to the Federal Reserve it is NOT really money in the eyes of the mint. Actually every proof and mint set we buy does not exsist as they never went through the Federal Reserve so it is not included in the official reports by the U.S. Treasury as money in circulation. Waffled coins are nothing more than a fad and should a few more thousand hit the market I would hate to be one who paid the big bucks to get a few of the first ones.
I assume that if the mint doesn't release these in large quantities they will become collectable and They will then need the security again. If they dump a few million into tade as cheap worthless gas station trinkets they will be able to continue as intended.
