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What are the most delicate coins?
braddick
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I'm thinking coins like PR70 silver Eagles that can later spot or full RED early Lincoln cents that can possibly turn in the holder. I recently owned a 1943 high-grade Lincoln cent that acquired white chalking spotting that in my mind ruined the coin. Perhaps my fault for where it was stored.
Are there coins you collect you must keep a vigilant eye on so as not to have the coin sort of ruin itself? Are there series you stay away from because of these reasons?
peacockcoins
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Zinc cents come to mind.
White metal. I have a white metal civil war token that I think the slab bent and is in the process of continuing to bend.
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Ouch!
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Pre 1816 coinage, especially copper. Very volatile. Had an 1804 MS 65 BN Half Cent develop PVC spots in holder eight years after I bought it from one of the most reputable people on the planet.
Unc. Classic Large Cents from 1812 and 1814 are the worst. The US Mint bought its copper from England and this was disrupted by the War of 1812. As a result, these Classic Large Cents were made from inferior sheets of copper (forget the correct term).
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Tin is problematic at low temperatures - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_pest
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"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
Some of the California fractional gold coins were struck on paper thin planchets which can easily bend. Some have wavy surfaces with "ghosting" which is when the image from one side of the coin is visible on the other side of the coin.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
California Fractional gold.
Bracteates. A small thin silver pfennig produced from about 1100-mid 14th century. They are uniface and are struck on what would resemble a piece of aluminum foil.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
I would have to agree with the California Fractional Gold and the Medieval
Bracteates. I'll also add Three Cent silvers and possibly One Dollar gold pieces.
Zinc is often very delicate but tin can beat it. Not all tin coins turn bad but the ones that do seem to all be affected. Iron can be the same way except most iron coins more than 50 years old are rusty.
Coins left in mint packaging can be almost universally ruined. Some (like '75 Japanese mint sets) are attacked by the packaging and should have been removed a quarter century ago.
I was wondering how 3c silvers fit into this. One of these days I have to crack one out and push it into a type-album hole.
That's my complaint with the DANSCO 7700 type coin album. The super small coins, such as the 3c silver and the half dismes don't stay where put and have a tendency to slide under the cardboard and plastic sleeve. Annoying.
peacockcoins
Probably not thinner than a Bracteate, but early silver shillings can be quite delicate - couldn't get one slabbed for that reason.