A couple nice clad circulation finds.
cladking
Posts: 28,747 ✭✭✭✭✭
In the last six months I've gotten two nice AU's quarters. The first is a very nice Gem '73-D worn down to AU-58. What's really curious about this is I just got a really nice Gem '78 in AU-55!!!
Both of these coins should be long gone from circulation many years ago. Even a nice attractive VF of the '73-D should be tough. Then to top it off they are both in the top 2% of being well made by new dies and neither have any obvious blemishes that would lead someone to spend a mint set coin.
Just coincidence, I suppose. One coin is a fluke but two??? I suppose I'll need to try my luck again with the W quarters.
tempus fugit extra philosophiam.
3
Answers
I should mention that the '73-D is unlikely to be a mint set coin since there is what appears to be a terminal die crack forming on the reverse between 11 O'clock and 3 O'clock. Perhaps someone saved it all these years because of the crack.
Junior broke into dad's coin stash and filched a couple old circ finds that dad pulled from change as a kid.
That's my guess, but I'm open to other theories.
I have to admit that I will even throw ratty BU clad coins from the '70's & 80's (that have no chance of selling to anyone) back into circulation. I have even spent or deposited drab, ugly, poorly struck BU rolls of nickels from the early '60's (62-D & 63-D) at the bank or casino.
Earlier this year I had received back a nice AU '65 Washington. I attributed that to probably someone punching out all the clad's from a Whitman album and spending the quarters. I have many such Whitman's that Dad had put together, and given me from when he collected, a few of the coins have nice toning.
Good luck on the W's.
I occasionally see older quarters in change that look as if they have either been in a collection or someone's sock drawer for many years.... Or coin jar....They just get stashed away early after issue and finally put back in circulation...either through spending or Coinstar....Cheers, RickO
Perhaps the best explanation is that the '78 is just a coincidence. There were still a few AU '78 quarters in circulation in 1999 when people started paying attention. Someone could have just set it aside and then quit collecting these coins recently. The '73-D was gone from circulation by '99 in such high grade, but the die crack might have caused someone to set it aside or possibly even a roll of them back in '73/'74. A very high percentage of Unc old clad are varieties and errors because regular issues were deemed "too common" to save.
It seems strange to suddenly see AU's and a few XF's now that most of the older quarters are so worn and chewed up. Only a third of circulating quarters are eagle reverse and very few are really "collectible" since even XF's of later dates look like they've passed through a meat grinder. I'm also struck by how hard it's getting to find a few of the states coins in AU. Even though quarters don't circulate as universally as they used to and many BU rolls of older states coins are being released a few of the early coins are getting tough in nice shape with luster.
These recent finds might just kick start a new collection from circulation. I started my first one in '96 but there's little chance of further upgrades except for recent dates.
Perhaps someone emptied out the glass 5 gallon sparkletts bottle that had been sitting in the corner for 40 years
Steve
This is always a possibility and there are always outliers but people would be surprised to know how few quarters ever sit in one place for more than six years now days or more than four years back in '99. If there were a substantial number sitting like this there would be far more XF's in circulation. A few coins by mere coincidence would go from one place to another where they say out the rigors of circulation. There would have been AU '69 quarters right up to the mid-'80's. They disappeared about 1981 and then I saw one outlier in the early '90's sometime. I've got a beautiful very high end XF in my collection that was an outlier I found around 1998. Today even VF's are tough and nice attractive F's are becoming quite unusual. Since '99 collectors are drawing off the high end of every date.
There are many ways that outliers occur and sitting in a change jar is one of them. Mint sets are a major source as well since there are more coins than demand. Also many sets are tarnished now so they get dumped in circulation and dealers don't want to be bothered shipping sets that are barely over face value. Coins can get lost and refound and many stores keep rolls in their safes for emergencies but then never need them. Some people fill barrels with their coins for decades and then buy a new truck.
But still, very few quarters sit over six years so the amount of wear on a given date forms a pretty narrow bell curve. Most of the outliers are little above (or below) the bell curve. Now the FED appears to be getting the low grade coins because they're too thin and collectors are peeling off the higher grades.