Which coin design shows slight wear the most?

fivecents

Of all the coin designs which design shows slight wear quicker than any other design? I am talking about the grade of AU59.9.

clackamas

Indian $2 1/2's.

TUMUSS

silver 3 cent

Veep

I was going to say Indian gold pieces too.

paigowjohnny

Anything by Barber

fivecents

The incuse indian gold pieces always seemed kind of hard to detect slight wear. At least to me.
I would say the Franklin Half design shows slight wear the worst.

poptopsRus

modern proofs

Fairlaneman

A specialist that collects one series would probably respond with the series collected. Merc dime slight wear is easy to detect and very obvious for myself but throw a Buffalo at me and I am lost.

Merc Dimes is the answer.

Ken

nwcs

I think SLQs show their wear very easily

fcloud

Type one Mercury Dimes (1916 and some 1917) are high relief and show wear.

Walking liberty halves are another series that show wear at those high pionts.

kranky

Very interesting question! I don't have a guess but I'm interested to hear what the rest of the group thinks. If I was forced to guess, I'd say Franklin halves. They often look XF to me even when they are Unc.

Just to clarify, when you say "shows slight wear quicker" do you mean easiest to detect wear, or quickest to show loss of any detail?

dthigpen

Standing Liberty Quarters and Barber Halves.

SilverDollarMan

<< <i>Standing Liberty Quarters and Barber Halves. >>



Got 2 admit, I've never seen a SLQ that didn't show wear!

cladking

Several factors come into play and some things would need to be defined to get a
good answer. Metallic composition is important because it is the largest determinant
of how quickly a coin shows wear. Most wear is the sloughing off of metal caused by
the mechanical friction of being forced against other objects. Soft coins will lose
much more metal with the same amount of insult. Hard metals will lose metal more
slowly. The coins also vary in the "thickness" of the luster. There are even individual
variations within the same series from one year to another. Since most wear is caused
by the coin sliding on top of surfaces or other coins the weight of the coin plays a role.
Coins with a low coefficient of friction are not as readily damaged by sliding.

In a practical sense on of the most important considerations is the color of the metal
after damage compared to the color of the uncirculated coin. Where these colors are
most different the wear will be easier to see. We also do train ourselves to see this
in the coins we collect so most are likely to choose their own specialty.

The sise of the high points and the angularity of these points down to the surfaces
also play a role. Small high points with steep sides will show all the damage on these
points and non-specialists will have a difficult time seeing it. Wide high points with
sloping sides like the Washington quarter will allow more gradual contrast from the damaged
to undamaged areas and can help to "highlight" it. The higher the relief the more the damage
will be concentrated and the sooner it will show up.

A great deal of the answer is largely a matter of opinion. While the clad Washingtons can
circulate extensively before they show signs of wear when they do show the wear it is
quite apparent. An early soft issue like the '70-D would head my list. The silver Washing-
tons show wear pretty well and earlier. The contrast in color is usually pretty dramatic.

MadMarty

Every AU58 I have ever got graded!!!

coinguy89

I would be thinking standing liberty quarters.

roadrunner

SLQ's are at the top. But I also think capped bust halves and even seated halves with their raised eagle wingtips show wear fairly quickly. Same for the knee/thigh of Miss Lib on seated halves.

roadrunner

coinkat

SLQs and even the 1916-1928 WLHs. How often do you really see a 1919-D, 1921-S and a 1923-S WLH in AU55-58?

michael

bust halves and saints


michael

Cam40

proof coins...next question.....

Betta285

walking lib. halves and standing lib. quaters are on the top of my list.

jim

dorkkarl

i'd guess anything in a proof format w/ heavy cameo frost is going to instantly show the slightest touch of wear.

K S

fivecents

poptoprus,cam40 and dorkkarl....
I asked which coin design shows wear the quickest, not what method of manufacture shows wear the quickest. Proof coins don't count. Sheesh, read the question.

shylock

Does a softer metal like bronze wear more easily? If so the lower hair curl on the IH cent is a candidate.