Ealier today, I was going through some rolls of silver coins that I pulled from circulation in 1968 (that I havent looked at in 30+ years) and noticed I had pulled an 1897 Barber Quarter (pretty scratched up and worn). I am guessing it might be in Good condition (not sure it would grade though with the scratches (perhaps from an old cleaning?)). So that coin was 71 years old at the time I pulled it from a bank roll. Today, that would correspond to someone pulling a 1939 Lincoln cent or Jefferson nickel from circulation (in terms of delta years). It got me to wondering, what is the oldest coin you all have pulled from circulation?
The oldest I came up with is an 1863 Civil War token while roll searching. I need to get a camera, I cant stand not being able to post pictures!
A common thread topic that pops up very frequently... I post this coin every time this question is asked:
Back in 1988 or 1989 I pulled an 1883 IHC out of circulation. It was really really worn, not even an AG coin, but being 10 years old at the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever! Not every day you find a coin that is 105 years old in circulation
You know of course that coins like this aren't in continuous circulation, but probably sat some place for 30 years before someone picked it up and spent it. And some might have been in previous collections! In the early 1970s I found a worn thin Barber dime in circulation.
I had a similiar experience as a youngster, although mine was a '09 wheatie. I guess that's the first time I really "noticed" coins.
You can't delete a thread only an admin could but there's no point doing that with this one... instead, before starting a new thread at the drop of a hat when something ocurrs to you, you should search for previous threads when you have a question or thought, look for recent topics that may address you question and then create a new thread if it's still warranted. Advanced Search is a greatly under utilized feature of this CoinTalk. It's located at the top right of every page.
And many people deposit to banks old rolls of coins they may have had sitting around for 20, 30 or more years... Roll searchers frequently report finding Walkers, Franklins, Mercs in rolls or even loose at teller windows of banks.
Its so funny that this thread was started the day after I got my oldest from circulation. A 1910 Lincoln cent in AG-03 or FR-2? Its pretty worn..
ok well I just joined but I pulled a 1878 Morgan dollar out of my drawer at the convenience store I work at.
I have found Indians in circulation... So I would guess that the 'oldest' date would be 1880s. I have never kept up with specific coins. A note on the indians posted in this thread: They have not been in regular circulation all these years. They are far too nice. Edit: Not to disparage the indians posted! They are gorgeous circulation finds that any numismatist would love to catch! I was just making an observation.
I pulled about three Indian head cents from circulation. Of course, they were only about 60-70 years old at the time I picked them up. I would pull a 1910-1919 about two or three times a year back then as well. In all cases, they were P-AG. Just about every roll of nickels contained a couple of buffalos and a couple of war nickels back then. But they were only worth a nickel back then.