Bad Coins

No. Attempting to "repair" details that have worn away is called "tooling" and is considered to be almost as bad as counterfeiting.

If the coin is so worn it cannot be identified to a specific year or mintmark, then it is sold as a "type coin" of indeterminate date. Some coins (such as Spanish-American silver cobs) often have the date missing due to poor strike.

If you're not sure what type of coins they are, post pics if you can. Getting the detail on heavily worn coins can be very tricky to make appear in an image.

Bad picture but I am trying!

I see a third - A-4 is as well. These "cartwheels" only come in one date: 1797. They're not particularly scarce, especially in "worn flat" grade - a couple of dollars, maximum.


The portrait on C-1 isn't British; I can't pick him. The same portrait is on B-4 when you brighten the image up. It's either a token, or something early American, or possibly French; any details on the other sides?

C-4 is a penny of George IV; these only come in a very narrow date range, 1825 to 1827, and the 1827 is scarce; the date is below the portrait; look for any trace of the last digit.

A-2, A-3 and B-3 are all George III "fourth series" pennies; these only come in dates 1806 and 1807. Again, the date should be below the portrait. The ones with deep punches and cuts are likely too damaged to sell for much above scrap copper value.

B-1 is a Queen Victoria penny, of the type issued 1841-1859; unfortunately, those heavy rim gouges below the portrait have likely obliterated the date.

B-4 and C-1 are defenitely French: I can read: Louis XVI, Roi des François (Louis XVI, king of the French). These must be revolutionary pieces, issued in 1791, 1792 or 1793. B-4 is probably a 2 sous, C-1 is a 12 deniers.