How is this grade possible ?

Skipper53

Saw an article in a recent Coin World about a 1792 half disme
that PCGS graded MS-64.
Doesn't MS mean uncirculated ?
How likely is it that a 212 year old coin could be uncirculated ?
Did some savvy collector take it directly from the Mint and put
it safely away never to be touched for over two hundred years ?

Or do very old and rare coins get special consideration when it
comes to grading ?
Can someone enlighten me ? Thanks.

nwcs

Mint state, for most people, means uncirculated. And there are uncirculated examples of 18th century coinage. A lot of them were found in bank vaults years later.

coltgus

That is one great coin and worth very big bucks.

PutTogether

Actually, a 1792 half disme getting put away for 200 years is quite possible. Legend has it that George Washington himself deposited the silver into the mints fund to make the coins, then he and thomas jefferson gave them away as handouts to dignitaries and such, or at least of them. A number entered circulation (as coinage was desperately needed at the time) and circulation was its main purpose, but they also served as a very unique gift from a two very important men.

I've always wanted a 1792 half disme. There's a chance george washington actually held it.

boiler78

I didn't see the article but I did see a PCGS ms 64 half disme recently. I believe it was at the ANA in Baltimore? Anyhow it was very very nice and definitely uncirculated.

291fifth

Mint state doesn't mean Uncirculated. A Large Cent specialist once told me that, if Mint State meant that the coin had no wear, whatsoever, that only about 150 Large Cents from the 1793-1814 period could be considered Mint State. The lower Mint State grades often have slight wear.

kamehameha00

I know some ancient coins are mintstate.

kranky

The grade of MS doesn't mean the coin never circulated; it means it has no detectible wear. If there is no visible evidence of wear, it's going to be called MS. Realistically, a coin could be handled a number of times before any evidence shows up.

Shamika

I really can't imagine many of these coins circulated in their day.

MrEureka

Can someone enlighten me ?




Jump in here!

MrEureka

I really can't imagine many of these coins circulated in their day.

They did. In fact, those that did circulate circulated very heavily.

BillJones

<< <i>I really can't imagine many of these coins circulated in their day. >>



From what I have read and seen, there are 15 to 20 1792 half dismes known in Mint State. Among the 300 or so survivors, the vast majority are worn, most of them WELL worn. With an estimated mintage of 1,500 pieces, that’s a much higher than normal survival rate, but it also indicates that most of these coins were spent.

The rule of thumb is that about 1% of the mintage of most early American coins have survived. That number can be driven upward by hoards. It should also be noted that quite often the first and last years of a coin series have been set aside as the first and last of their kind.

Our American forefathers did not start collecting U.S. coins in any great numbers until just before the Civil War. Most of the pre- Civil War Mint State coins that we collect today were saved a keepsakes or were in the European collections.