Smooth edge 1983 Kennedy half

I have a 1983 Kennedy half with smooth edge. The dia. measured against other Kennedy,s it is the same. Weight 11.2 grams as compared to avg wt of 11.1grams of 10 coins. I have 12 mos mach training at GE and the edge is certainly not mach. The obverse and reverse are strangely mottled . The mint mark "p' is just a blob. I will post pictures of both sides
and edge of coin at a later date. In the mean time I welcome any comments.

 

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Probably a spooned or dryer coin, but without pictures, no one can tell you what it is.

 

Photos first...comments later!

Chris

 

Ditto

 

I used to see a ton of the smooth edge half dollars while I was coin roll hunting. I always wondered what caused it. Someone told me they were casino halves, from the slot machines. Makes total sense now. Just think about how many times those half dollars were dropped on their edges during payouts and into the machine it's self. They were very popular back in the '70's through the early '00's until most of them switched over to paper payouts. Also, most of those halves never left the casino, they lived in those machines.

 

Just typical Kennedy Half Dollar wear due to the soft copper core being the bulk of the reeded edge.

 

If you knew how a slot machine works, you would realize that it is very unlikely the entire circumference could be worn down so evenly.

They were probably "spooned".

Chris

 

Okay. Spend a decade dropping a half dollar repeatedly into a machine with other coins and watch them get dropped out into a hopper over and over. Eventually they do wear pretty evenly. They won't get dropped onto the same spot on the edge every time. It's the law of averages at work here.

 

Roll searching yrs. ago I found many with missing edge reeding.
I always assumed it was casino wear.

 

The coins do not fall into the hopper directly on the edge. The coins are ejected at an angle about 45 degrees onto one of the faces. Also, the coins are routinely swapped out because abnormal wear makes it difficult for the coin mech to process them. You may be surprised to learn that the casinos were the largest purchasers of half dollars until the introduction of ticket in/ticket out technology.

Chris

 

Without a doubt. I live fairly close to casinos and it is common to find that 70% or more of the halfs that you find in circulation here have no reeding left. Even the ones as late as 07'-09. The machines no longer take them now and pay out with a due bill.

 

I live in Connecticut close to two casinos.
Local rolls always have some coins with missing reeding.
On vacation in N. Hampshire and Vermont I got rolls up there and NONE had missing reeding.
That tells me Casino half dollars get damaged edges.

 

Here are the pictures i promised. Comments please!!!

 

Yup, that one has seen some serious abuse. It looks like it's spent many years cycling through a slot machine.

 

I'am curious. Does anyone know when they stopped using half dollar slots? Thanks everyone. I think I will save this one as a curiosity.

 

The time frame varies among casinos, but it happened when they went from cash/ticket in to ticket out technology.

 

HELLO Y'ALL, I'M BACK AGAIN. SORRY TO BOTHER YOU WITH THESE REDUNDANT QUESTIONS BUT I HAVE FOUND ANOTHER COIN WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE POSTED PICTS. IT IS A 1969 NETHERLAND GULDEN. THIS IS WHAT BOTHERS ME THE PUBLISHED FACTS ON BOTH COINS EITHER MEET OR EXCEED THE MINIMUM. FACTS ARE; GULDEN WEIGHT PUB=6 GRAM COIN=6.1 GRAM DIA. PUB AND ACTUAL=25MM AS MEASURED BY CALIPER. KENNEDY WEIGHT PUB=11.1 GRAM COIN = 11.2 GRAM DIA PUB AND ACTUAL 30.4MM. MY ? IS IF THESE ARE CAISINO COINS WHY ISN'T DIA AND WEIGHT CONSIDERABLY LESS? ANY COMMENTS.......?

P.S. FORGOT TO MENTION THAT WRITING ON EDGE IS MISSING.

 

Buy a $500 Box of Kennedy Half Dollars and you can add more to your curiosity collection since this is a quite common wear pattern for these coins.

 

Because the factual figures are "+/-" values and you've explained it perfectly by saying: "I HAVE FOUND ANOTHER COIN WITH THE SAME PROBLEM."

In other words, not an error (for the Kennedy) but a "problem" coin.

 

Have these in the console of my truck. Did have a Ziploc bag full just like them, but gave them to my wife to spend in the honor box at work. Earliest is a 72, latest a '96.