Has anyone seen a well worn steel cent?
Higashiyama
Posts: 2,279 ✭✭✭✭✭
For example, a steel cent that would grade G04? Do well worn examples exist without corrosion?
By the time I started collecting (1964), they were mostly out of circulation; most of the ones that did come up would grade around VF had some degree of corrosion.
By the time I started collecting (1964), they were mostly out of circulation; most of the ones that did come up would grade around VF had some degree of corrosion.
Higashiyama
0
Comments
1943: 1 in AG03, 1 in VF25, 1 in VF30, 1 in XF45, 2 in AU50, 1 in AU53, 3 in AU55, 12 in AU58.
1943-D: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF45, 2 in AU58.
1943-S: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF40, 5 in AU55, 2 in AU58.
Total pop in non-MS grades: 37.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
<< <i>In the PCGS Pop Reports, there are very few that exist but there are the following:
1943: 1 in AG03, 1 in VF25, 1 in VF30, 1 in XF45, 2 in AU50, 1 in AU53, 3 in AU55, 12 in AU58.
1943-D: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF45, 2 in AU58.
1943-S: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF40, 5 in AU55, 2 in AU58.
Total pop in non-MS grades: 37. >>
....I don't think PCGS is the place to look for info on well-worn steel cents......wouldn't be worth grading.
.....more likely to be found in "an old jar we found in grandma's attic"
......I collect old stuff......
+
twenty five dollar slab + shipping+ insurance= 15 cent coin.
seriously, the zinc plating, initially only not on the edges....gradually wears thin, rust, brown corrosion begins to discolor coin. Ive seen a lot of these, not a pretty thing.
I guess if you "pocket wore' one for a number of years you could keep it active enough that the zinc would wear and the steel would wear but the corrosion wouldnt take place.
could be a "life mission"....to make a PO 01 1943
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>15 cent coin
+
twenty five dollar slab + shipping+ insurance= 15 cent coin.
seriously, the zinc plating, initially only not on the edges....gradually wears thin, rust, brown corrosion begins to discolor coin. Ive seen a lot of these, not a pretty thing.
I guess if you "pocket wore' one for a number of years you could keep it active enough that the zinc would wear and the steel would wear but the corrosion wouldnt take place.
could be a "life mission"....to make a PO 01 1943 >>
I would guess (hope) some of the lower grade submissions would be RPM's or Doubled Dies? I dont know. I wouldnt submit anything less than a shot at 66 for grading unless it was one or the other.
"I've seen many hoards of these coins, tens of thousands of coins in total, and probably not a single piece lower than VF details. Obviously, the coins were quickly pulled from circulation."
I would like to see a photo of the AG-03 in the Pop Report.
~
"America suffers today from too much pluribus and not enough unum.".....Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
It will take longer!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
SEE ATTACHMENT
REALLY tough to find a VG coin or less.......
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
<< <i>15 cent coin
+
twenty five dollar slab + shipping+ insurance= 15 cent coin.
seriously, the zinc plating, initially only not on the edges....gradually wears thin, rust, brown corrosion begins to discolor coin. Ive seen a lot of these, not a pretty thing.
I guess if you "pocket wore' one for a number of years you could keep it active enough that the zinc would wear and the steel would wear but the corrosion wouldnt take place.
could be a "life mission"....to make a PO 01 1943 >>
Make me one in PO1 and I'll buy it from you for 1K.
That should be worth busting out the sander/rock tumbler. Turn a 15c coin into a grand.
Go for it!
(My offer lasts until late summer, so you have plenty of time.)
peacockcoins
Cool!! I've never seen one with nearly so much wear.
The reverse looks more like a 2 than a 3. There is no
sign of wheat ears.
~
"America suffers today from too much pluribus and not enough unum.".....Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>You know Andy you say this...and in three posts someone will post a VG!
It will take longer!
You're right.
While I'm not sure VG's were often in circulation there were certainly a few low grade Fines. Peo-
ple disliked these coins and often intensely so they could circulate a little faster than others. Steel
wears pretty hard so it took a lot to wear them down though.
The FED removed some 10 or 15% of mintage of these in the late-'50's and since they used mag-
nets they'd preferentially get well worn coins slightly. The cent was losing a lot of buying power
by the early '60's and they were probably starting to get thrown away a little.
I should note that I'm actually looking at a whole roll of low grade F's with a few VG's in it. These
are the remnants of a much larger group and separated from the corroded pieces. In circulation
the worn pieces were more likely to corrode and be thrown out. It may not have been caused so
much by a thinning of the zinc as just an opportunity to be exposed to adverse conditions. I'd
guess most of these were still in circulation in 1959 and about 1% were VG, 5% F, and the rest
better. Half were corroded and this much more affected the lower grades.
in the previous post. This is a danger of trying to extract too much information from
too small a sample. There are a few legitimate VG's in the lot but on closer examina-
tion a few of the small number are actually "problem" coins. One even had its obverse
rim removed before many years of circulation (presumably to pass as a dime). Some
of the fines while significantly worn still have fairly sharp lines in the wheat.
If you grade these by the obverse only then my earlier numbers might not be greatly
overstated but if you grade by the wheat "ears" they are.
<< <i>
<< <i>In the PCGS Pop Reports, there are very few that exist but there are the following:
1943: 1 in AG03, 1 in VF25, 1 in VF30, 1 in XF45, 2 in AU50, 1 in AU53, 3 in AU55, 12 in AU58.
1943-D: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF45, 2 in AU58.
1943-S: 1 in VF35, 2 in XF40, 5 in AU55, 2 in AU58.
Total pop in non-MS grades: 37. >>
....I don't think PCGS is the place to look for info on well-worn steel cents......wouldn't be worth grading.
.....more likely to be found in "an old jar we found in grandma's attic" >>
If you want an example that's not rusted you would. Yes it would be a "WTF?" type coin to be in a slab, but a question was asked, and I was giving an answer.
Dwayne F. Sessom
Ebay ID: V-Nickel-Coins
<< <i>BTW, I'm suspicious of the wear pattern on the AG03 pictured above. I say that because the wear pattern on the reverse roughly mirrors the portrait on the obverse. It's as if the coin was face down, rocking on the axis of the portrait, as the reverse was artificially worn down by someone with no respect for high grade coins. Of course, I could be wrong... >>
I had the same thought when I first saw those pics. The central part of the reverse has way too much detail considering that the outter part of the reverse surface is totally worn smooth.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Empty Nest Collection
There are few coins uglier than a worn steel cent. Yek!
<< <i>There are few coins uglier than a worn steel cent. Yek! >>
Agreed. Today I found a steel cent in the discard bin of a coinstar machine. Over half of the surfaces is covered with rust and corrosion.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163