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Message:: [QUOTE="Hobo, post: 547162, member: 11521"]It's certainly not like it was before 1965. Back then it was common to find coins worn almost smooth. Of course, the silver coins were softer and more prone to wear than the clad coins of today and they remained in circulation for a long time because there was no incentive to remove them from circulation (because their face value was greater than their melt value).  Another difference is - - - Back then people USED coins. They didn't toss them in a jar at the end of the day. They got coins in change and they SPENT them later. You know - they would give the cashier a $1 bill, 2 quarters, a dime, a nickel and 3 cents for a $1.68 transaction rather than giving her $2, pocketing the change and tossing it in a jar that evening. This meant that coins CIRCULATED. Now the Mint has to keep making new coins to replace the ones sitting in jars and drawers so cashiers can make change for those that only pay with currency (and so that change can end up in a jar somewhere). Many of the 1960s quarters are showing a lot of wear after 40+ years of use but nothing like the wear Standing Lib Quarters had in the 1960s. (90% silver wears much faster than clad.) I also see an occasional well-worn nickel. But it is RARE to see dimes and cents with much wear because, unlike quarters, they don't circulate except from the cash register to a pocket to a jar.[/QUOTE]