Youtubers That Damage Silver Coins...

[UtahRich]

Kinda depends on how harsh the elements have been on the coin. Some coins come out of the ground looking pretty pristine, others, the soil has been harsh to the surfaces. I've found my fair share of good dates / mint marks over the years, but like what's been said above, Official Coin Graders are going to start with a demerit for environmental damage and go from there. Silver coins get washed/sprayed/brushed off of grit, dirt, sand, whatever, before i start handling. Still, the surface of silver coins are relatively easy to unknowingly mar with fine scratches.

Years ago, I was in a coin shop with an 1881-S $10 gold piece I had found at an old ghost town in Utah. I was having it looked at by one of the owner's assistants.  The assistant was telling me the coin was a counterfeit because of some very fine frosting / hazing on the surface. I laughed at him which he didn't appreciate. The owner came over, who i knew well and asked what was up. He knew me and the coin, as I had found it on a club hunt. He was the president of the local Token Collectors Club (NUTS). He was President of the American Numismatic Association a few years later. He explained to his assistant about the environmental damage that happens as the corrosive soil attacks the copper alloy in the gold coin. Anyway, part of life for us detectorists.

Bob had made a comment to me a number of years earlier that the coins I would recover would almost always have some sort of environment damage observable on the surface that would be a big deal to "Coin Collectors" but wouldn't matter so much to me. 

For me, found coins each have a little personality to them. Many of my silver coins have lovely toning or unusual dark areas due to the dirt or rusty nails and such that were near the coin while in the ground all those years. I leave these character marks and place the coins in a cardboard 2x2 and slip it into a binder for later show and tell. Each has a little story behind it and brings back fond memories of road trips and outings.

My only hope is that at some point down the line, the grandkids don't get into them and use them to pay for candy at the local convenience store.  

 

UtahRich

 

[Badger-NH]

I dug this tiny silver last spring and was very careful with it from the moment it came out of the ground. The soil was very kind to it over the centuries. 1662 Oak Tree two pence. Slightly smaller than a Trime.

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Badger-NH said:

I dug this tiny silver last spring and was very careful with it from the moment it came out of the ground. The soil was very kind to it over the centuries. 1662 Oak Tree two pence. Slightly smaller than a Trime.

That's a hell of a find, particularly in that condition!  A perfect example of why care in handling is meaningful, at least until you can evaluate. 

[George Kinsey]

The pick of the litter Badger.

[Cal_Cobra]

I've watched my hunt partner scratch a few silver AND gold coins 😲

[Doc Bach]

The bottom line is that there are no virgins out there because we are all guilty of doing it.

[Daniel Tn]

I don't have to worry about it where I'm at.  Folks around here were so poor they couldn't tell the depression was going on.  If they had a dime to lose, they spent all week looking for it til they found it.  If I find a silver, it's normally always a 1940s Merc or Rosie that barely made the silver years.  That is unless I travel away from this immediate area.

[sodbuster]

On 2/2/2023 at 2:34 PM, Mike_Hillis said:

I'm just a pirate.

When I find a silver coin it just goes into the back pocket of my jeans and I'll wash it off under the facet when I get home.  Then I'll coon-finger it for the rest of the day, take it to work for show and tell and then toss it into the silver drawer with the others and occasionally sit down with the drawer and coon-finger them all again, remembering where I found them, or trying too,  and noticing they are getting a little blacker than last time I pulled them out.  

All the others just go into a tub for cleaning and cashing in on some rainy day.

HH
Mike

 

Mike,  you are a man who truly enjoys his finds, and gets the full satisfaction from finding them.   Arghh!  

 

     

[Badger-NH]

On 2/3/2023 at 12:23 AM, Daniel Tn said:

I don't have to worry about it where I'm at.  Folks around here were so poor they couldn't tell the depression was going on.  If they had a dime to lose, they spent all week looking for it til they found it. 

You won't find much with that attitude.

[Daniel Tn]

7 minutes ago, Badger-NH said:

You won't find much with that attitude.

It's not an attitude or state of mind. Having a different mindset doesn't magically make what isn't there just appear. You must not know much about rural Tennessee and its history.