73 year old coin found in change today...

jayPem

Yipee !
I love finding these kinda things...

lkeigwin

Boy do I feel old.
Lance.

LochNESS

Cool

I remember finding coins from the 40s and 50s in my pocket change, but at the time, they were only 30-40 years old

keyman64

In the last year I have received two of the exact same.

roadrunner

Yup, 1939, 1940, and 1941 nickels are common as dirt. I suspect we'll still be seeing them for a while longer in our change. Even in the mid-1960's to mid-1970's I seem to recall that
besides the huge quantity of 1964 nickels in change vs. most any other date, the 1939 nickel was quite prevalent and held its own as a true common date.

MidLifeCrisis

Always fun!

LochNESS

IMO this is similar to metal detecting. Just another form of hunting for those coins which may not be pristine condition, but are guaranteed to have some history.

okiedude

My wife got a 1939 penny in change yesterday.

LochNESS

cladking

<< <i>Boy do I feel old.
>>



No reason to feel old. Of course all the beatles may be younger than the nickel and
more than half the world's population was born after John Lennon was murdered but
that's no reason to feel old.

About 80,000,000 1940 nickels should survive meaning about one in 400 but with lots
on desks waiting for the owner to call the nearest coin shop it's probably closer to 1: 450.

The 1939 should be far tougher since mintage was lower and more saved. All the branch
mint 1939's are saved. You can still see a 1938 once in a while but these had a very low
mintage and higher savings rate yet. There are probably just a couple million in circulation
and this is one exception to the rule that old Jeffersons tend to be in higher grade than the
newer ones.

baseballjeff

Nice find! I still get jazzed when I find a wheat back!

cupronik

I remember collecting the milk money for lunch back in 1968-69 (I was in the 4th grade) and came across a 1939 Jefferson. "Wow! That's old.", I thought to myself.

It was thoughts similar to this (and thinking these are "valuable") that led me into the coin hobby beginning in February 1969.

morgansforever

Nickels are obviously tough, to be bounced around in commerce all this time and still be in great condition.

ricko

I like to think I have aged as well as those 'vintage' nickels.... Cheers, RickO

PerryHall

Probably came out of someones collection or nickel album. No way it circulated that long with so little wear.

jayPem

<< <i>Probably came out of someones collection or nickel album. No way it circulated that long with so little wear. >>



Thats what I was thinking...I could feel the sharpness along the rims before I even looked at it.

This is one funny hobby, the thing is worth 5c but I've probably got a couple of ASE's of my time into taking pics, editing, photobucketing and posting the darn thing !

OKbustchaser

<< <i>Cool

I remember finding coins from the 40s and 50s in my pocket change, but at the time, they were only 30-40 years old >>



So, I remember finding coins from the 50s in my pocket change, but at the time, they were brand new!

silverpop

not a bad find

found this 1938 nickel a year ago in change

Bayard1908

<< <i>Yup, 1939, 1940, and 1941 nickels are common as dirt. I suspect we'll still be seeing them for a while longer in our change. Even in the mid-1960's to mid-1970's I seem to recall that
besides the huge quantity of 1964 nickels in change vs. most any other date, the 1939 nickel was quite prevalent and held its own as a true common date. >>



I put together a set of nickels from change in the late 1970s. I had about a dozen 1939 duplicates. My keeper 1939 was MS or close to it. I had rolls and rolls of other duplicates from 1939 to 1959. I eventually spent all my duplicate nickels, except for better dates such as 1949-S, 1951-S, etc.

A surprisingly large number of the older nickels I found had a deep circular scratch on them. I always figured it meant the coin had been used in a gumball machine, although I imagine they could have been damaged by a coin counter.

cladking

<< <i>I remember collecting the milk money for lunch back in 1968-69 (I was in the 4th grade) and came across a 1939 Jefferson. "Wow! That's old.", I thought to myself.

It was thoughts similar to this (and thinking these are "valuable") that led me into the coin hobby beginning in February 1969. >>



It's funny that 45 years ago a 20 year old coin was old but now a 73 year old coin is not.

LochNESS

That is ironic, cladking.

cladking

<< <i>That is ironic, cladking. >>



I'm sure it's primarily the result of the perception that all coins made since the 1930's are common as dirt.

It is this perception that has resulted in both high grade '40-D nickels in circulation as well as later nickels
which are far scarcer than the '40-D having a much lower price. A coin like the '71-D nickel is much scarcer
than the '50-D in nice chBU but sells for the same prioce as an XF '40-D (maybe less). By the same token
there are no XF '71-D nickels either in circulation or in collections because the perception is as a modern it's
not collectible or worth saving.

Perspective is everything and perspective is something that can change quuickly.

SteveDippolito

A couple of months ago I got a 1926 D cent in my change

I kid you not! I was absolutely flabbergasted. At first I thought it was a 1976 but the 7 looked just wrong enough to make me do a doubletake.

Sure enough, wheat ears and basically a VF-30.

coinnut

A good friend of mine who works at the local Taco Bell/KFC found an 1858 Flying Eagle cent in the till last week.

droopyd

I encourage new collectors (YNs with no money) to start with pulling Lincoln memorial cents and Jefferson nickels out of change. Both sets can easily be 90%+ completed from circulation, even though some of them are 50-75 years old.

cladking

<< <i>I encourage new collectors (YNs with no money) to start with pulling Lincoln memorial cents and Jefferson nickels out of change. Both sets can easily be 90%+ completed from circulation, even though some of them are 50-75 years old. >>



People don't realize just how tough a lot of moderns can be in nice XF and better. They don't
get any attention and there are very collections of them as they just wear away in pockets.

Some of the dimes and quarters are tough even in nice attractive F.

johnny9434

thats a decent pick up, congrats.

pocketpiececommems

The 38 on these nickels are a classey looking date.

lordmarcovan

Nicely done!

Funny you should mention that. I just pulled a 1940 nickel from the till here at work, myself.

Mine was a P-mint and only the typical VG-ish coin, though. Yours is far nicer.

I got the added bonus of a 1948 Wheatie in EF+, though. It was nicer than the usual circulation Wheatie find.

OKbustchaser

<< <i>

<< <i>That is ironic, cladking. >>



I'm sure it's primarily the result of the perception that all coins made since the 1930's are common as dirt.

It is this perception that has resulted in both high grade '40-D nickels in circulation as well as later nickels
which are far scarcer than the '40-D having a much lower price. A coin like the '71-D nickel is much scarcer
than the '50-D in nice chBU but sells for the same prioce as an XF '40-D (maybe less). By the same token
there are no XF '71-D nickels either in circulation or in collections because the perception is as a modern it's
not collectible or worth saving.

Perspective is everything and perspective is something that can change quuickly. >>



I think that you are right in that it is a matter of perspective---perhaps, just the wrong one. IMO, it's more a case of 45 years ago I was a young teenager and a 20 year old was an adult--AND OLD! Now, at 60 the thought of being 72 years old simply doesn't seem nearly as much of a difference.

Coinsponge

A couple of days ago I had a minute to spare so I decided to go through some of the pennies that just get dropped in a bucket from change I get. In just a minute or two I found a 1920 obviously well circulated but pretty good condition for 93 years. One of these days I hope I can really comb through the pile and see if some errors are hiding.

TwoSides2aCoin

... and here, I thought we ran out of nickel in 1938 and started using the other precious metal: "LEAD".
Found this in a junk box of coins and thought it was kind of strange, so we examined it a bit closer, and took photo just for this thread. To keep it "nickel" related

cladking

<< <i>

I think that you are right in that it is a matter of perspective---perhaps, just the wrong one. IMO, it's more a case of 45 years ago I was a young teenager and a 20 year old was an adult--AND OLD! Now, at 60 the thought of being 72 years old simply doesn't seem nearly as much of a difference. >>



Yes, perspective is an individual thing as well. But your and my perspective is shared by a great
portion of the hobby and it's not realistic. Imagine if 45 years ago there were nickels in circulation that
were as much as half a century old but tough to find in BU rolls and no one had ever collected them
from circulation so there were few in higher grades of circulated as well and that the only reason this
situation existed was that the coins were considered common due to high mintages! In 1960 a ten year
old '50-D nickel was considered virtually ancient and today it's a modern. This perspective shifted gradu-
ally over the years but it doesn't have to change slowly.

FullStepJeffs

If you live anywhere near me, I drop this things in change quite a bit just to maybe start the next generation into collecting.

I'd suggest every coin collector should consider doing the same thing in their own way.

Steve

OnlyGoldIsMoney

Today I found a 1940 Cent in VF on the floor of a Wawa in Pennsylvania.

Broadstruck

I just in the last month placed 4 rolls of early dated Jefferson's bank into circulation.

If it one of the 160 sparks the interest of a new collector it was worth it.

PipestonePete

<< <i>

<< <i>Boy do I feel old.
>>



No reason to feel old. Of course all the beatles were born by the end of 1940 and
more than half the world's population was born after John Lennon was murdered but
that's no reason to feel old. >>



Don't mean to nit-pick...but only Ringo Starr and John Lennon were born in 1940. Paul McCartney was born in 1942 and George Harrison was born in 1943.

I attended a Paul McCartney concert in Milwaukee just last Tuesday. The man rocked for 2 1/2 hours without taking a break on a very warm evening.

sparky64

Just wanted to report that I received a 1941 D Nickel in change a few days ago. VG-ish.

WoodenJefferson

When I was a kid, finding a Indian Head Cent, Buffalo nickle or a Mercury dime in your change didn't even excite us, it was an everyday occurrence. Walking Liberty's were out of our league, but a V nickle or a Winged Liberty quarter...that was different.

magikbilly

<< <i>

<< <i>Boy do I feel old.
>>



No reason to feel old. Of course all the beatles were born by the end of 1940 and
more than half the world's population was born after John Lennon was murdered but
that's no reason to feel old. >>



Whoa! George was Born in 1943 (remember he was kicked out of Germany?), Paul in 1942. Ringo was oldest in 1940 with John after in October.

Eric

cladking

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Boy do I feel old.
>>



No reason to feel old. Of course all the beatles were born by the end of 1940 and
more than half the world's population was born after John Lennon was murdered but
that's no reason to feel old. >>



Whoa! George was Born in 1943 (remember he was kicked out of Germany?), Paul in 1942. Ringo was oldest in 1940 with John after in October.
>>



D'oh.

Sometimes you have to look at something several times before you see it's wrong. How about;



<< <i>No reason to feel old. Of course all the beatles may be younger than the nickel and
more than half the world's population was born after John Lennon was murdered but
that's no reason to feel old. >>



It's changed.

magikbilly

I did not mean to make a big deal about it

But by placing the birth of Beatles into the 1930's - is DID age some of us a bit too fast

Eric

OperationButter

<< <i>

<< <i>Probably came out of someones collection or nickel album. No way it circulated that long with so little wear. >>



Thats what I was thinking...I could feel the sharpness along the rims before I even looked at it.

This is one funny hobby, the thing is worth 5c but I've probably got a couple of ASE's of my time into taking pics, editing, photobucketing and posting the darn thing !
>>



Time is money friend

Good find, always fun!