I am a real newbie so I hope I am not asking a really stupid question. My grandfather's coins are all graded but were graded probably back in the 40's. Do they stay the same grade or change over time? He has several that are uncirculated but they don't look brand new. Is that because they have been hidden away for years and they have simply become dull?
Under normal circumstances if care is taken for proper storage under a controlled climate, coins can remain almost as brilliant as the day they were struck. Depending on the type of holder or container the coins were stored in may cause them to tone, but that is to be expected if the paper from the 2x2's or album contained chemicals such as sulphur. Chris
Please post good photos of your coins so we can see what you are talking about. By graded do you mean that someone wrote their opinion of a grade on the envelopes or holders in which the coins are housed? If so, I would not put a lot of stock in those grades. Grading standards have changed immensely since the '40s. Back then there were no real grading standards. Grading was much looser because the price difference between grades was not nearly as significant as it is today. The grades of the coins should not change over time unless some outside for acts on the coins. Coins housed in coin cabinets for long periods of time have been known to develop "cabinet wear" on the side facing down due to the friction between the coin and the drawer. Your coins may have toned in the decades that they have been stored. Not all toning is bad. In fact, a good bit of natural toning is desirable to many collectors. Whatever you do DO NOT CLEAN YOUR COINS.
There are a couple hundred coins - mostly cherry picked over the years by my dad and uncle who sold when they needed a little money. I will try to figure out how to post some photos to show some examples of what my grandfather called uncirculated. I will NOT clean them - actually I had read that some years ago so I never have. The coins are each in little individual envelopes and stored in a coin cabinet. I think I saw some instructions on how to post pics. I will look for it.
Here are the pictures of a few examples of what my grandfather has listed as uncirculated. 1921-P Morgan dollar 1937 Nickel 1912 Nickel Do these look like uncirculated?
the top 2 do appear to be uncirculated or atleast AU and i cant tell on the bottom one since theres no pic of the reverse
