Post Your Most Worn 1965-Pres Dimes And Quarters
Manifest_Destiny
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The discussion about moderns and some of the comments made me think about how clad coins wear vs the silver coins they replaced. I excluded halves because they never really circulated in the clad era. It seems like even the most worn 1965 clad coins are probably VG-F after 60 years in circulation.. Silver coins looked like this after just 30 years. Clad coins seem to have held up pretty well over the years.
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I received this 1967 quarter in change this morning. Assuming it has been in circulation for most of the past 57 years (and not sitting in a drawer or can for decades) it looks to be in excellent shape. Clads are durable.
The velocity of coin usage was much higher in the pre-clad era. Most people had no credit cards, or, if they did, probably only had a gas station credit card. Clad coins have held up very well in circulation but the level of circulation they have experienced is much lower than in earlier days.
Also silver is much softer metal vs clad metal thus given the same amount of time in circulation silver will wear out much faster.
The most worn clad I’ve ever seen in circulation looked like a VG-8. Those things hold up well.
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I don't disagree with the assertion that coins saw more use 60 years ago than they do today. But one wonders why, if that is the case, the number of coins made now is soooooooo much higher than it was 60 years ago. And we keep hearing about coin shortages.
The population is higher and more people just throw their change into jars for long periods rather than immediately using it for purchases.
I started a set of the most worn quarters I could find around 2001. By 2008 I had every slot with nothing better than what I call a G with nice even wear. Many are technically only AG because the lettering wears into the rim on the reverse as soon as the luster is broken. I was pretty regularly "upgrading" this set and then the worn coins just started disappearing. I believe the FED started removing worn coins about that time. Not to fear though; these were not a large percentage of any date because clads tend to get lost before they wear out.
Most of the old clad today is VG except the coins are typically culls because of heavy scratching. A full one third of them have serious flaws such as deep gouges and stains. Few of these survive after so many years. Even common dates are getting really tough well made and in nice F or better condition. In the last five years it is apparent that eagle reverse quarters are being removed enmasse as evidenced by the soaring percentage of the coins being new quarters. I believe this is being done by collectors rather than the FED because the FED lacks the facilities to do it and have no reason. New quarters now constitute a full 70% of quarters in circulation.
The "float" goes up and down with economic conditions but a very low percentage of clad quarters sit out of circulation for any significant period of time. If they did then a few coins would be in very high grade because they went from one stash to another and this is hardly seen. More coins were held by the mint and in the distribution network than the float and still are and this is why old coins are often found in high circulated grades; they got lost in storage for decades. The mint and FED adopted FIFO accounting in 1972 and began rotating the coins in storage. This primary source of high grade coins has been gone for decades.
They wear like iron because they are so much harder than silver and because their lighter weight reduces abrasion as they slide. They wear more slowly now days largely because after the early '80's their velocity has been dropping and because it's no longer "fashionable" to have coins jingling in your pocket.
Don't know if wear is natural or not.
I also have a very worn GB CN 10p
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Sorry, I just realized that this is not a dime or a quarter.
God bless all who believe in him. Do unto others what you expect to be done to you. Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24. Founding member of CU Anti-Troll League since 9/24/24.
I got a 1965 quarter in change this week that was XF with some luster.
No.
The coin was an AU before having its rims removed and being slid around excessively. This is sometimes done intentionally but my understanding is that most happen in clothes dryers or other machines unintentionally. I suppose they wear down thin enough that they pop back out of wherever they got stuck.