What Are These Numbers Written On Old Coins?

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,412
DL20K Pillar of the Community Poland 3201 Posts	Posted 05/16/2016 10:25 am Sometimes find some numbers on old coins. They may even be written directly on the coin. Two auction/shop examples: What are they supposed to signify? And is there a way to safely remove them? Report this Post to the Staff

Athalbert Pillar of the Community Spain 629 Posts	Posted 05/16/2016 11:01 am That coin was part of an ancient collection, perhaps was part of a museum. Usually they used to mark their artifacts with small labels like that or directly writed on the surface of the coin. Report this Post to the Staff
TypeCoin971793 Pillar of the Community United States 6370 Posts	Posted 05/16/2016 12:15 pm They served the purpose of ID tags in an old collection. Report this Post to the Staff
moxking Rest in Peace United States 17900 Posts	Posted 05/16/2016 5:02 pm Most commonly seen on museum collections that were dispersed. Report this Post to the Staff
DL20K Pillar of the Community Poland 3201 Posts	Posted 05/18/2016 02:19 am Thanks everyone for explaining the reason behind the coins being marked in such way. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16868 Posts	Posted 05/18/2016 08:24 am Prior to the invention of 2x2s, coins were frequently identified with tags in coin trays and cabinets and had the numbers actually written onto the coin, with ink, so the coin could be put back in its proper place. Modern collectors don't do this, of course, but the numbers are usually not removed by people who own the coins today - the numbers are, after all, a mark of provenance - a sign that the coin has in fact been in collections for 80 years or more - even if the exact details of the collection it used to belong to have now been lost. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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