1918 Illinois Centennial (Lincoln) Commemorative - Cleaned?

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,060
The Silver Searcher Pillar of the Community United States 1388 Posts	Posted 02/23/2023 4:43 pm Hi all, Spotted this one on ebay the other day: Here's the full listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364150291411 Does it look cleaned to you all? I detect some hairlines in these pictures... one spot where they seem to show up is on the top of Lincoln's head. I lived in Illinois once upon a time, so I've always wanted one of these to add to my circulated set. I got outbid on a nice one over two years ago, and this is the first since then that's caught my eye. For some reason - perhaps Commems and Nickelsearcher have an idea - these are more difficult to find in this state than one might expect for a pre '30s commem. I'd appreciate any thoughts you all have! TSS Report this Post to the Staff

Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 02/23/2023 5:57 pm Does not appear cleaned to me. Seldom seen in this condition. Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15400 Posts	Posted 02/24/2023 06:16 am My eye does not see any problems with this example. Nice price as well at $110. Quote: these are more difficult to find in this state than one might expect for a pre '30s commem. My experience back when I was actively searching for these is that an honestly circulated Lincoln would appear on the market a few times per year - difficult to obtain but certainly more available than the 6 'stoppers' I wrote about at the time. I suggest this coin would grade in the VG10 range. Here is my PCGS AG03 example. Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12261 Posts	Posted 02/24/2023 09:51 am In my mind, the low availability of circulated 1918 Illinois Statehood/"Lincoln" half dollars in today's marketplace is likely tied to the coin's original distribution. 1) Coins were distributed across the state, divided among Illinois counties based on their population - coins were sent to the Centennial Committee of each county for sale to the local public. This ensured a wide in-state distribution for the coin and prevented large-volume circulation dumps from a centralized source. 2) Unsold coins (~30,000 of 100,000 minted) were stored in a Springfield, IL bank vs. being returned to the US Mint for melting. (This was a follow through on a promise made to Congress when the coin's bill was before it.) During the bank audits conducted as part of the 1933 "Bank Holiday" mandated by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), the unsold/uncirculated Illinois half dollars were found in the bank's vault. The coins were sold to coin dealers at a small premium over face value, who, in turn, sold them to coin collectors. If they had simply been dumped into circulation, circulated examples would be much more plentiful - in collector hands, however, they were far more likely to stay out of circulation. I've discussed the Illinois Statehood half dollar's distribution in the following: - 1918 Illinois Statehood Centennial - Revisited - Quick Bits #30 - 1918 Illinois Sales Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Report this Post to the Staff
The Silver Searcher Pillar of the Community United States 1388 Posts	Posted 02/25/2023 4:13 pm Thanks for the opinions everyone, and the great historical explanation, Commems! Pleased to say that I decided to buy this one... tried to get the seller to go down a bit on the price, but they were firm, so I figured that $110.00 was worth it. Can't wait to see this one in hand soon! I'll have to post a "family picture" of all eight (!!!) circulated classic commemoratives that I've managed to assemble once I have all of them in one place. Crazy how things work out - I hadn't bought one since July, since I hadn't seen anything I liked with a good price, and now I've bought three in the last three weeks. Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15400 Posts	Posted 02/26/2023 06:09 am Quote: I'll have to post a "family picture" of all eight (!!!) circulated classic commemoratives that I've managed to assemble I look forward to viewing it. Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
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