| Author |
 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,938 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
363 Posts |
I have been thinking about this for a while and I am curious if anyone else on CCF has thought about it as well. I recall seeing a thread where people could post their pocket pieces and it got me thinking,
If you had a surface cleaned coin as a pocket piece, Would the shiniess and scratches from it disappear?
if you had a slightly environmentally damaged coin (let's say large copper) where the surface showed discoloration and slightly pourous would carrying it arouound wear down the surfaces enough to make the environmental damage less noticeable?
I was curious if anybody had ever tried to test this out. I know it would take a while to wear down a coin in your pocket, but I would be interested in if it would actually work.
I appreciate everyone's input!!
|
|
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I believe this is the topic you're thinking of: http://goccf.com/t/173203I am yet again reminded I need to do an update. I've been carrying the gold-plated Morgan I posted there every day for about 6 1/2 months now. The plating is worn off on many of the high points now. Unfortunately some of the deepest scratches are in the fields near higher relief so, it will be much longer for those to be affected. There is a huge scratch across Liberty's cheek so, that will be the test as to how long it will take for a scratch to be worn down. I'm sure I've added some small scratches and dings in the process.  I think the things you mentioned would be worn down over time into a nice heavily-circulated-looking coin. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
09/07/2017 11:47 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Norway
1358 Posts |
It depends a bit on how you clean it. If you use chemicals then you can be sure that it will show that its cleaned, no matter how much you wear it. If you only brushed it, then the metal itself isn't affected, and those scratches will disappear over time, just to be replaced by even worse scratches due to wear.
Also, for coppers, keep in mind that a coin can't be un-worn. The coin will just worsen. Especially with porous coins, you should keep in mind that they're weaker than regular coins and thus they'll go down faster.
For me, the only reason to have a pocket piece is that it makes a nice conversation piece and it brings back good memories of my trips. I do know that a pocket piece shouldn't be a valuable coin in any way, as the only thing you do by having it in your pocket is slowly but certainly wear it down.
I currently have a French 1 Centime coin and a Czech 5 Crown as pocket pieces. The former I've had for a longer time now, but it barely shows wear. The latter only because I forgot to put it with the rest of my Czech coins after a trip to Liberec, so I decided to keep it with me. Both coins are made of steel so it takes a while to wear them down. Please do know that I manage to lose my pocket pieces every now and then, so it's not sure that these will reach properly worn conditions. I noticed that discoloration and so usually remains visible in copper coins. The same goes for (deep) scratches, although the edges of those may soften a bit over time.
Hope this helps!
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
For a pocket piece, it would be a mistake to worry about any minor damage to the coin, either before being used as a pocket piece, or while it is being used as a pocket piece. Either way, it is going to get badly marked because it will be in heavy contact with keys or whatever hard metallic object happens to be in your pocket. Use a coin that non coin collectors are likely to appreciate. A good example of a coin that might fill this role would be a Walker half dollar, in no better than VF condition. The design is one of America's best, and it is in .900 silver, for the appreciation of those who would know the value of silver. At least, choose a coin that has no more value than it's bullion value. If you are VERY wealthy, how about a Double Eagle?  If you are like most of us, a Mercury dime would be OK. The latter coin could even be holed, perhaps found that way from a dealer's junk box. |
|
Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
I believe the gist of your question is asking if damage or cleaning on a collectible coin that is thus damaged can be reduced or eliminated by use as a pocket piece.
If you have nothing else in your pocket to cause further damage the answer is, yes and no.
If you play with the coin obsessively it will still take years to simulate circulation that reduces the grade enough to also rid it of such problems.
But the reduced grade will also reduce value. So in most cases you don't win by attempting to eliminate problems by "similar" circulation.
Buy coins you don't want or need to attempt such a thing as being a pocket piece. If you already have them, take photos every three months and post the results after a few years.
That would serve us all as educational.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
Take into consideration also the PM content of the coin. .999 will wear faster than 90% which will wear faster than 80% which will wear faster than Cu or CuNi. I have a 2013 ASE that I started carrying in June 2014 and have been doing so on and off since then (currently "on"). It is wearing down very nicely but is also pretty dinged and beat up. On the other hand, an 1883-O Morgan that I carried for nearly 2 years before I sold it off, other than the toning rubbing off and the details smoothing out somewhat, did not get significantly worn in those 2 years. If you aren't set on having a silver coin, you could try carrying a clad Ike dollar. That will take a LONG time to wear down, although people have done it. |
|
Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The 1921 Morgan I carry is not "recovering" as quickly as I'd like. And who cares if it does? It's a circulated 1921 Morgan.  |
|
Valued Member
 United States
363 Posts |
Quote:
I believe this is the topic you're thinking of: Yes it is Spruett001! The reason why I was asking is because a while back I had bought some silver coins for $10 from a pawn shop. He was having trouble selling them because they were cleaned, for $10 I certainly wasn't going to argue I received : 1907 d Barber half dollar 1950 Franklin half dollar1965 Kennedy half dollar(40%) 1904 Barber quarter1930 Standing Liberty quarter1903 Barber dime 1944 Mercury dime 1947 Roosevelt dime They are all cleaned and just common dates, but the cleaning makes them look prooflike and it's hideous I wanted to know if making it a pocket peice would take away some of the cleaning. I'll keep everyone posted on how it turns out. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1609 Posts |
I've tried having a pocket piece. All 3 times I tried, I forgot to take the coin out of my pocket before the pants got washed. Those coins are now resting with the countless left socks that also disappeared out of the back of the washer.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
655 Posts |
I don't know if you can undo cleaning by making a coin a pocket piece but I have a large cent that I've been carrying on and off for a while
When I started it had no visible date and almost no visible letters. After a while nearly all of the letters have appeared and the date is close to nearly readable.
Why would that be?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7390 Posts |
My pocket piece is (or should I say was) a $110 BU coin. Oddly enough though, the more it wears down, the more it's worth  |
| |
Replies: 10 / Views: 1,938 |
|
Posted 09/08/2017 06:58 am
