What Is Up With This Gold Dollar?

Dave --

Sounds like what you are saying was that the reason that coin didn't do better than it did at auction was more about just the "luck of the draw" as to who was there bidding, versus the "environmental damage." Not to say that the environmental damage wasn't a big PART of it, but not the sole reason it fetched such a "small" price (and I put that in quotes, as I wouldn't be calling it small if it were ME that had found something worth 4 grand in the dirt!)

I think another BIG reason dug coins often look "corroded" is due to FERTILIZER. I have heard that certain fertilizers are pretty harsh on coins, and since there's not much agriculture in central Oklahoma, that could be part of it. I guess I'm indeed lucky to be digging here, versus in some other areas. The ground is definitely pretty "nice" to the coins here...at least the silver ones. Copper doesn't do as well; some aren't bad, but some do show corrosion; nickels, too -- and most of them take on a really "red" hue, due to the iron in the clay we have here.

By the way, I don't blame you for not having any reservations for an extended vacation here. Not to knock Oklahoma too bad, but it's not exactly at the top of most folks' vacation lists... ;) That being said, there ARE many nicer parts of Oklahoma, than the Ft. Sill area. Southwest Oklahoma is pretty brutal, especially in the Summer. It's basically desert-like in that part of the state. But, I guess I'm preaching to the choir, since you lived there!

Steve