| Author |
 Replies: 20 / Views: 11,482 |
|
New Member
Canada
3 Posts |
*** Edited by Staff to remove YELLING from the subject ***Please help me identify this rare hollow quarter. I got it as change from a gas station and all of my online research leads me to believe that it may possibly be a spy quarter (KGB, Soviet) It is a 1971 Canadian quarter, the detail of the coin is unbelievable, which leads me to believe that it is not a fake, or counterfeit coin. However when weighed it is exactly 2.4/2.5 grams which is exactly half of the weight of a Canadian minted quarter. There is deterioration around the edge, where it appears to be opened at one time and the coin does not separate like typical known spy coins. there is a green substance inside that appears to be oxidization, (but I don't believe that it is oxidization... I don't exactly want to start scraping it out just in case it turns out to be some kind of suicide capsul) Can anyone explain this coin? Greatly Appreciated    
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
300 Posts |
Test gov't quarter--themed hollow promises? Probably some ahead thinking RCM employee who now runs the one a day mint puke-a-thon. Oh yeah and 25 for 25? You got it--it works :) |
|
Valued Member
Canada
180 Posts |
Looks like someone touched the coin with a 1/8th arc-air rod at one point.
Also looks like the coin may have been left on a dirty/wet shop floor or on the street, someone found it and spent it.
Green stuff looks like typical corrosion caused from exposure to the elements.
Neat coin, worth keeping as a conversation piece.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
870 Posts |
https://goccf.com/t/166234Hey curious collector...I hope you don't mind me sharing on your post. Above is a post I submitted on 2 king george nickels from the 1920's with the same kind of effect. Here are some pictures too of a very similar coin to yours. Mine is a 1982 25 cent with the same type of effect. On mine there is evidence of the coin being buried in the ground. You can still see some dirt on it in places. So what is the cause? Likely it is the effect of acidic soil on my coin but why did it only seem to effect certain areas? Did these coins have impurities in the metal? Both coins are supposed to be pure nickel. probably the best description is a combination of impurities in the metal and environmental damage. Definitely a keeper! Let's see what others have to say!    
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1505 Posts |
SPP might be best qualified to answer to or address this mystery.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2632 Posts |
 I cleaned the green up on this one for a better look. They're all PMD and its anyones guess as to what happened.   |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
604 Posts |
People do some strange things to coins
|
|
Moderator
 Canada
10458 Posts |
Wow... most corrosion I see on the modern nickel composition coins is a crust of green nickel oxide - those are impressive (from a corrosion perspective). I have seen George V nickel 5-cent coins 'hollowed out' by corrosion, such as yours. Nickel is a pretty tough metal, it must have been subjected to some harsh conditions over a long period of time... Sorry to burst the bubble, it is not a 'spy' coin, it is a damaged coin. Oddly enough, these are collectable, because people collect the strangest things... You might be lucky and get a twoonie for it... "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1049 Posts |
I metal detect underwater and have found numerous hollow and surface corroded coins that you can only make out denom by size. I have a 42 nickel that's beautiful obverse and reverse but hollow inside and soft like aluminum foil lol. Cool find. Cheers
|
|
Forum Kid
Canada
1074 Posts |
ya termites  spp and you all is right and I also think it is an acid or corrosive of some sort. I have no idea what an arc air device is! |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Buy a safe made of stone, termites have evolved to eat metal too It is possible to electroplate out the insides of a plated coin, leaving a hollow coin, I did that once even though it was not my intention to. I wasn't able to repeat it. I threw the coin away... only if I knew the ridiculous things people buy! This won't work for solid metal. |
|
Moderator
Canada
10458 Posts |
Also on another forum... https://www.cointalk.com/threads/pl...rter.255426/The answer there, from harris498, wins the internet for the day... Quote:
Yep, these KGB 'suicide quarters' were minted in St. Petersburg in 1971 and 1972, from seized Canadian planchets and dies stolen from Ottawa by an undercover operative. The green substance you see is arsenic trioxide. I would estimate value at $21,000 to $26,000, in the right auction. You should contact a major auction house. "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
Edited by SPP-Ottawa
11/18/2014 4:20 pm
|
|
Valued Member
United States
300 Posts |
Comment from the same thread:
"It is simply a coincidence that 1971 marked the 10 year birthday of the USA's currently seated President. (or is it?)"
Yep--in the 1960's Khrushchev said, "we will bury you!"
Today it is updated to, "we will Barry you!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Arsenic trioxide isn't even green. I don't think arsenic even makes green compounds (to my knowledge, if it isn't a transition metal, its compounds aren't colourful). Try nickel compounds - a lot of them are green.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4692 Posts |
Due to high price of copper, instead of stealing copper wire thieves are now stealing the copper cores from coins such as these.
|
| |
Replies: 20 / Views: 11,482 |
Posted 11/17/2014 07:01 am
