Pocket pieces

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by John Skelton, Jun 6, 2022.

  1. John Skelton

    John Skelton Morgan man!

    I've heard the term, now I want to know the why and how of it.

    When talking about a pocket piece, do you mean you have a coin without any protective covering in your pocket? What if it's a fairly valuable coin? Do you do it so you can show others an old or interesting coin? I would worry about marks and scratching.

    And can you show us your favorite pocket piece?
     
    mlov43, expat and Randy Abercrombie like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    People have been carrying a pocket piece coin for over a hundred years. Theodore Roosevelt was reported to carry an ancient coin with in owl as his pocket piece. One way to collect coins is for your collection and storing them to keep them in a nice condition.
    Think the opposite with a pocket coin. It’s a way to collect, hopefully lower grade and common dates. You get to have it but better yet, you can feel it. Rubbing your fingers over the raised surfaces is quite a feeling. Flipping it in the air and catching it is a good feeling as well.
    Imagine being in a store and reaching for change in your pocket and out comes all that clad and zinc coinage and a Morgan Dollar. Naturally you have no interest in spending Morgan but other people around you don’t. Sometimes you can create excitement by doing this.
    It’s a fun thing and a different way to not only collect but to enjoy your coins.
     
    Scott J, AdamL, MIGuy and 5 others like this.
  4. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    I like this thought. I may begin carrying one of my old cull Morgans now that you brought this thought to mind....... I believe it was @GDJMSP that showed a very worn St. Gaudens that he carried as a pocket piece. I may be wrong but I think I saw that in an old thread.... Now that would most certainly generate interest in folks around you if you pulled that out of your pocket change.
     
  5. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

  6. expat

    expat Remember you are unique, just like everyone else Supporter

    It is also a way to convert a higher grade details coin to a lesser straight graded coin. And of course, they can have special meaning as well. Good or bad.
    I will share one of each for you. First is a Barber half which was carried by my Wife's Grandfather and then her Father and now me. They were both coin collectors and Officers in the Norwegian merchant Navy. The coin, one of the first US coins collected by her Grandfather, traveled over 100,000 sea miles and anyones guess in land miles. That is the good.
    The bad.
    My Mother was born late into her parents marriage and her Mother told her of things that happened to her Father (my Grandfather) when he returned from WW1.
    He would go through periods of not meeting or speaking with anybody, just sitting alone and stroking this Half penny for hours and hours every day, while whatever demons were running through his head.
    I have inherited both, the Barber sits in my pocket and the other is in a capsule.
    20211212_200135 (2).jpg 20211212_200203 (2).jpg DSC01099.jpg DSC01100.jpg
     
    serafino, AdamL, Mountain Man and 6 others like this.
  7. dwhiz

    dwhiz Collector Supporter

    Here's mine 1926 Pocket coin 3 13 22 A-horz.jpg
     
    serafino, expat, AdamL and 4 others like this.
  8. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    I carry this 1 in my wallet. Uruguay puma. I carry it for luck and for a conversation piece. This alligator wallet was given to me by my Ex-girlfriend. It is thee only good thing I came away with in that relationship. lol I have nicknamed it Troy (Landry) Gator hunter from the Swam People TV show. It looks like the tail piece. I really like it, but it is falling apart because I put too much stuff in it. Looks like a double cheeseburger.

    Image09182020113826.jpeg Image09182020113843.jpeg
    Image09182020113933.jpeg
    Image09182020113916.jpeg Image09182020113903.jpeg
    4f copy.jpeg
    4g copy.jpeg
     
    dwhiz, expat, AdamL and 3 others like this.
  9. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  10. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

  11. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    St. Gaudens-designed obverse; I count that as a hit. ;)
     
  12. jamor1960

    jamor1960 The More I learn, the Less I know....

    My avatar is my pocket piece. Its also part of my key chain, thus the bezel. It was cleaned by my uncle, with a pencil eraser, back in the 70's. :(
     
    dwhiz, serafino and expat like this.
  13. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    A large old silver coin will generate interest and raise eyebrows. I myself can’t help but think of all the thoughts everyone is having, especially the question they are asking themselves. Is he going to spend that coin? Makes me laugh every time I think of it. :)
     
  14. CoinCorgi

    CoinCorgi Tell your dog I said hi!

    Pocket Patina R.png
     
    Kentucky and -jeffB like this.
  15. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Got two. ASE and a 2014 Hall of Fame commem.

    IMG_2933_zpsac1c92b1.jpg IMG_2934_zps9bffa0d7.jpg
     
    jamor1960, dwhiz, expat and 1 other person like this.
  16. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    If the holes are still intact, I'd get more lacing on that damaged edge to protect it. I've hand made many leather wallets in my time, and there is just something about having one in the pocket, so I know your attachment.
     
    expat likes this.
  17. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    As for pocket pieces . . . I carry a known fake silver dollar just to see how it wears over time. Feels good in the pocket.
     
    dwhiz, alurid and expat like this.
  18. AcesKings

    AcesKings Well-Known Member

    My son made up a money clip for me for my birthday one year. It has a 1929S Standing Liberty glued to it. Thing is, I don't even have a '29S in my collection yet! Sorry no pics.
     
  19. John Skelton

    John Skelton Morgan man!

    Maybe I'm just sensitive, but the only coins I want in my pocket are my spenders, because I don't collect them. Any coin I want to collect I don't want in my pocket to get dings and scratches. I just think any collectible coin should be either in a collection or available for others. Except for those that have traveled around with a relative and passed down.
     
    dwhiz, -jeffB and expat like this.
  20. AdamL

    AdamL Well-Known Member

    For several years I carried a Walking Liberty half dollar in my wallet. I think it was a 1934 and already worn enough that it wasn't worth much as a collectible.

    On the day my older (and at the time only) nephew got baptized I had given him a Noah's Ark piggy bank. It was appropriate because his name is Noah, and also because there was a torrential downpour that day.

    A few minutes after giving it to him, the idea struck me to get my pocket piece out of my wallet and drop it in the piggy bank. I don't think I ever did replace it, at least not permanently.
    But now that I think about it, I'm definitely going to. I think it would be a good thing to have a coin with me that I can get out and feel and focus on. It might be a good distraction from racing thoughts and anxiety that I deal with.
     
    green18, dwhiz, -jeffB and 2 others like this.
  21. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    I agree in general, but... there are some coins that never (or almost never) see actual circulation, but are still dirt-common and not inherently valuable. If you want to see how (say) a proof 1999 Connecticut quarter or an ASE or an AGE looks after it's sustained significant wear, your only real choice is to wear it down yourself. I don't begrudge anyone's desire to do that experiment.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page