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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,074 |
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Valued Member
Canada
495 Posts |
Im sure this question has been posed before but I'm curious as to why the obverse side of a coin is generally more wear than the reverse side ?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
Over the years I've noticed the same thing.
My Answer: I don't know. Lots of conjecture but ....
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3234 Posts |
A lot of experts should jump in here..
My take...
The reverse has a lot of center devices across the surface (ie date and large letters..etc..) and these devices are elevated and they protect the fields from the little contacts. There are less open areas on the reverse for contacts to get in.
The obverse is often a smooth face with open fields which makes it easier to collect marks and show wear.
The letters around the rim on the obverse are always nice and frosty long after all of the center devices show contacts and wear.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
10743 Posts |
I'm not an expert but, I thought it was because the obverse of the early coins were convex.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1505 Posts |
I am with Devlec on this one... much more surface to rub on. And usually smoother to bub than all the ridges on the reverse.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5395 Posts |
Convexity on some issues is a problem. High relief obverses especially Victoria, Edward VII , George V also enter the picture. Convex obverse of 1959- 1963 halves resulted in rapid obverse wear. When you have convexity combined with low relief the obverse will certainly wear quite rapidly. Just a conjecture , but had silver stayed in circulation a great many Elizabeth silver pieces (1953-64) would be completely worn out by now on the obverse.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
here's how it was explained to me, both sides wear about evenly, but devices such as numbers and letters start out somewhat "flat" and don't show their wear as much as their high profile/relief counterparts.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5395 Posts |
An excellent read on this subject is " Standard Grading Guide to Canadian Decimal Coins by James E Charlton and Robert C. Willey" c 1965 Whitman Publishing Company Racine Wisconsin. Well written and a wonderful technical old time grading guide of Canadian coinage by two Late greats of Canadian Numismatics.
Older hard cover versions are now difficult to find but the LCS or a book store could yield a soft cover version. This is a MUST have book for any intelligent numismatists Library!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3234 Posts |
I wasn't going to bring convex or concave issues into this general wear question.
It certainly is a serious issue with the 5 cent silver pieces.. Some of the early nickels also.
Tough to find a gem Edward VII..that's for sure..
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Moderator
Canada
10458 Posts |
Coins produced at The Royal Mint also had some issues produced with the obverse being the hammer die... how the coin was struck may also play a role in its final convexity... "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
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Forum Kid
Canada
1074 Posts |
Isn't it because the obverse usually is higher and has a larger bust. The reverse wears just the same or evenly however it is just the fact that the reverse is more flat or concave.
Another one of my theories is possibly the way that one would pay with a certain denomination of coin, you would slide the coin across the table to look at the reverse which usually has the denomination. However not all coins have the denomination on the reverse.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21620 Posts |
I don't think I have ever seen anyone flip a coin on a table to look at the denomination. Most people can tell a nickle from a dime from a quarter without looking.
I tend to agree with Roger, when the dies are struck, the Hammer Die tends to have a weaker strike than the Anvil Die.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,074 |
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Posted 12/21/2014 09:14 am
