1838 Cent... Normal Wear Or Something Else?

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,089
Nells250 Pillar of the Community United States 781 Posts	Posted 11/02/2020 8:13 pm While doing a little cleaning I ran across an 1838 cent. I have no idea where it came from! It is in an old holder and marked "1838", which is good, because I wouldn't have been able to tell! My question is: is this normal wear OR is it some sort of fake? Why is the date worn totally down, BUT the LIBERTY area, which I assume is of higher relief, NOT worn? And why is the back still very readable? What's with the "thick, pebbley" patina on the back and less on the front? I know about paper... but metal, other than that on a car or model, is a whole other world. I had some difficulty getting decent macro shots but here you are: Report this Post to the Staff

Zurie Pillar of the Community United States 5665 Posts	Posted 11/02/2020 8:27 pm Actually, the letters of LIBERTY are inset, so they don't get much wear. The pebbly surface is from corrosion. It looks like there might have been an attempt to smooth over the date area, which might be why that area looks more worn. It's certainly genuine, just has a lot of environmental damage. Report this Post to the Staff
Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 11/02/2020 8:40 pm Badly corroded cent with misguided attempts to clean the obverse. Report this Post to the Staff
Ty2020b Pillar of the Community United States 4680 Posts	Posted 11/02/2020 8:43 pm corroded and cleaned. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 11/03/2020 12:21 am the weak date and starsm and the peripheral legend on the rev was something of a characteristic of the late 1830's for some reason. early die states will show them well formed but the dies seemed to "sink" rapidly around the edge resulting in the weak stars, date and legend. TYhis also tend to show up in some varieties in the 1850's as well. especially on 1854, 55, and 56. The pebbly surface though is probably old corrosion that was removed long ago and then the coin sontinued to circulate. Edited by Conder101 11/03/2020 12:22 am Report this Post to the Staff
Nells250 Pillar of the Community United States 781 Posts	Posted 11/03/2020 1:51 pm This is all good for me to learn from, THANKS! Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 11/03/2020 5:46 pm And now due to the cleaning attempt, really just a worn coin. Report this Post to the Staff
Nells250 Pillar of the Community United States 781 Posts	Posted 11/03/2020 7:20 pm My luck, too... dangit... I am almost tempted to see how much cleaner I can get it now that I know it doesn't really have much value. Just to see how much more I can MESS IT UP! ;-) Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,089

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