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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,933 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1005 Posts |
I recently bought a 20 cent piece that's worn down to a FR02 grade. It tickles me to think it was used for a long time after entering circulation to get to its current state. Maybe it was confused for a quarter and used well into the 1900s, who knows? I'm just curious as to how these obsolete denominations went extinct, such as the Half Cent, 2 cent, 3 cent, and 20 cent, and how long after their discontinuation would they have continued to circulate. I know somebody here found 3 cent nickels roll hunting before but I think that would be more of an anomaly/mistake instead of an instance of a continuously circulating coin being found. I know also justcarl had mentioned occasionally finding large cents in circulation back in the 1940s, and I thought that was just so cool! |
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Pillar of the Community
Sweden
729 Posts |
I got the impression that US currency never got obsolete...would be a pain to pay something with Half Cents though :P Edited by epikur
12/04/2015 03:53 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4989 Posts |
Collectors will occasionally circulate old coins for fun. Might be tough finding a shop that would accept a 3-cent nickel!
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4591 Posts |
Much more likely is that when they stop circulating somebody grabs one as a pocket piece and carries it for several years, thus continuing to wear it down vs actual circulation wear.
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
My rule of thumb is that a coin design pretty much disappears within 10 to 15 years after it is discontinued. This circulation period can be altered by major recessions/depressions or if only one side of the coin design is changed. For example wheat cents circulated longer because the obverse was still the same. For the same reason I would expect the Memorial cents will circulate longer than 10 to 15 years unless they get smart and discontinue the cent.
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Valued Member
United States
467 Posts |
Yrs ago my grandmother was working in a grocery store as a kid, she received a 2 cent piece as part of payment, this was in the early 40's.
Not a coin, but I was able to purchase $500 bill or face in 2009 at a bank.
So coinage and currency that very rarely circulates,does on occasion,as far as I know there is no US currency that is obsolete.
Edited by oober
12/04/2015 4:22 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
Quote:
I know somebody here found 3 cent nickels roll hunting before but I think that would be more of an anomaly/mistake instead of an instance of a continuously circulating coin being found. This happened to me last year, except mine was from circulation (I'm a bank teller). Purely an anomaly, I'm sure. Someone's collection probably got raided or stolen, and it made its way, through some channel or another, to the guy who deposited it with me. Since they're exactly the same size and color as currently circulating clad dimes, it can be easy to miss unless you're paying attention to your change (and who does THAT anymore besides us?!). And easy to confuse if one is a novice. Unless of course he was one of those guys on these boards who purposely circulates out obsolete coins. Here is the link to that thread: https://goccf.com/t/186347 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
2 cent pieces were apparently popular to give to children to use in candy stores, right up until the 1910s/20s. I read either on here or another forum where a member's father or grandfather lost a finger in an accident with farm equipment as a child in the 1910s, and was given a 2 cent piece to buy candy to cheer him up. I also read that Barber coinage was uncommon, but not necessarily rare until the late 1960s. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Some of the guys in my former coin club, myself included, periodically place old coins into circulation, leaving them as tip money at a restaurant.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
All US coins are legal tender and can be used in commerce, but designs that are no longer in production are considered obsolete. The only obsolete coins I ever ran across in the 60's were wheat cents and a couple Buffalo nickels. My grandfather hoarded silver from circulation once the clad began. He had a business and a fair amount of coins came through his hands. There were a modest amount of Mercury dimes and a few Standing quarters but not a single barber coin. It is always possible for a long obsolete coin to show up but you wouldn't really say they are "in circulation". That leads to the next question. What frequency does a coin need to appear in circulation/rolls to be considered to be "in circulation"? 5%? 2%? 1%? .1%? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1373 Posts |
Quote:
What frequency does a coin need to appear in circulation/rolls to be considered to be "in circulation"? 5%? 2%? 1%? .1%? First off, I'd like to say that everyone probably has a different opinion for this question. I am only going to post MY thoughts as am answer, and I may be in the majority or the only one with this mind-set. I'm pretty sure that most people only use the appearance of a coin to grade it. Take for instance two cars going down a highway; one is colored black and the other is colored red. Most people will likely think the red car is going faster, but it's just a 'mind game' that we deal with all the time. My thought is that ALL coins that are found by CRH (coin roll hunting), or in change from a purchase at a store or payment at a bank, are circulated; weather I was the first or fiftieth to touch them. The only coins I could claim as 'uncirculated' would need to still be in their original un-opened packaging (vinyl or plastic). I never pay uncirculated prices for raw coins, and I at least give credit to those who sell coins as "pulled from an uncirculated roll (or set)" and don't actually call them "unc's". Also, when I come across a PROOF coin (found in circulation) that looks so sharp that it seems like it just came out of the hands of the Mint, the highest grade I would give it would be "AU59PF". |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
My circulation finds of obsolete coinage include a 1903 V nickel, 1903/1907/1908 Indian Head cents, a 1941 Walking Liberty half dollar, and a 1936 Buffalo nickel, all in well circulated condition, and either from rolled coins or received in change (the V nickel and 1903/1907 indians were pocket change finds.) Probably about 20 rolls of Wheat pennies, all told, over the last 30 years, if those count. When I get one I write on a 2x2 the location, date, and such where I found the coin. My grandfather passed away in 1986; in 2003, I inherited what was left of his silver coins. He ran a body shop and also spent a lot of time with his wife out in Reno after the war. All told, there were 17 Morgan dollars (8 of which were 1921's), 9 Peace dollars, 6 Roosevelt silver dimes, 2 Washington silver quarters, 3 Mercury dimes, a 1964 Kennedy silver half dollar, and a dateless Standing Liberty quarter. He opened his shop for business in the late 40s and sold it in 1985, so that is when those coins would have been acquired; one is engraved "Reno 9-24", a 1921 Morgan. There were no Barber coins of any sort, so those were probably exceedingly rare finds in circulation in the 40s and onward. Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
atticguy, I'm not sure you understood my post. It has absolutely nothing to do with grading. My question relates to what do we consider to be a coin design that is currently in circulation. How often does a coin have to show up in circulation to be considered a circulating (not circulated) coin? For example wheat cents can still be found if you search enough rolls. Do you consider wheat cents to be a currently circulating coin? Search a lot more rolls and every so often you will find an Indian Head cent. Are Indian Head cents a currently circulating coin? That brings us back to my question at what percentage of appearance do you consider a coin to no longer be a currently circulating coin? And if you hold to that idea that the only coins that can be called Uncirculated are those that were still in the original packaging then almost every slabbed MS coin need to be reclassified as no better than AU. Because unless all those MS Morgan dollars were shipped to the TPG in unopened mint sealed bags there is no way to be sure that they never were used to make a single transaction. That's why they are grade by examination looking for signs of wear. if there is wear you know it circulated, but if there is no wear you don't know if it ever circulated or not. So you either give them the beneft of the doubt and say no wear they are Uncirculated, or just about every coin that isn't ultra-modern and/or a collector coin can be no better than AU. |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,933 |
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Posted 12/04/2015 08:00 am
