How could someone do this to a coin?

MadMarty

Still going through the boxes of coins and found this. What a shame..

tjkillian

Remember that is was a 13 year old in 1859 who wanted to see if his half dollar would ever come back to him after he spent it.

It is truely sad.

Tom

MadMarty

Another one (maybe I can sell it to Russ!!!)

TheNumish

Bought a bunch of 90% halves from a guy who was a doorman for a hotel. He saved all the halves he got as tips. He put a scratch accross each one and when I asked him why he said if anyone stole them the police could tell they were his. None of them were worth anything but in 100 years who knows. His weren't as bad as that one but it still made me cringe a little.

LanLord

I have seen a fair number of seated coins with either the word liberty scratched out or lady liberty with an X across her. They seemed to be fiftys and sixties so I always assumed it was someone that was displease with the civil war trying to make a statement.

And yes, it's a darn shame.

CalGold

Some one scratched numbers, maybe part of a date, on the only known 1870-s $3 gold.

Bear

My motto is;" If the coin dont itch, dont scratch it".

DHeath

Marty,

It still looks like you are having fun with the hoard. I hope you found a few winners.

dorkkarl

coins of that era were often scratched to make sure they were silver , and not silver-plated copper slugs. a deep scratch would reveal the copper core.

K S

Bear

Is that a historical dorkism?

dorkkarl

it's a dorkical historism!!!

K S

Hunt

So that's why all my gold coins have teeth marks in them.
Someone must have thought they were gold plated.

-Hunter

swissmiss45

Maybe it was a slave or ex-slave owner who did that in a rage.
swissmiss45