The Rev

This seemed to be the most appropriate topic heading for a 'hello' post (unless in my senility I missed the official place for them). Anyways, I'm an American who collects pre-decimal British coinage. Not by any stretch of the imagination an expert, I just know what I like (and what I want and don't yet have... mmm, gothic florins). Most of mine come from stray foreign boxes at local coin shops, usually 4/$1 or thereabouts, so it's almost all base metal. My personal favorite is an 1868 1/3 farthing, though that wasn't had from a box in a coin shop; the oldest is a 1749 halfpenny, which likewise didn't come from a box. Outside of that, I'm working on a birth year world set for myself, I like issues related to space, physics, chemistry (circulation issues only--as far as I'm concerned, if it never hit the street, it may as well be a medallion). I also collect Polish coins... and of course anything that makes me go "Ooo, I want that!" when I have sufficient money on hand.

The only advice I ever was given about cleaning coins was this: beyond carefully brushing off surface dirt, don't. Of course, with modern coppers, since they haven't any collectible value yet, you can afford to experiment. I've used (US) cents to make copper acetate for chemical plating--even the copper-washed zinc coins have enough copper for that--and was also able to see how a patina forms on them afterwards. Obviously, that's strictly for pocket change, not for anything remotely collectible. I don't know of a reliable chemical method for cleaning coppers that won't leave a residue or change the color or otherwise alter the coin past merely cleaning it.

Sure, and that's a good point, too. And I don't want to anthropomorphize things--I mean, it's just a disk of metal with a design pressed into it. The ones I find a little harder to understand are the high-grade circulated coins, the ones that hit the street and then something happened to them. You can't really attribute their survival to either luck or design easily. Either someone set it aside deliberately (whether planning to spend it later or actually conserve it) or it was a stored coin spent well after it's minting date that someone noticed and promptly took right back out of circulation, probably. Or something. I mean, just going through my pocket change right now, by pure chance I have both 1963 and 1963-D cents. I wouldn't feel guilty calling either one of them Fine to F/VF. Heck, I was made the same year, and half the time I don't feel better than VG. Of course, it's a lot easier when you haven't had an obvious size/design/content change. I still pull wheat-back pennies from change every now and then, and it's not that uncommon to see a nickel dated in the 1940s or 1950s, and once in a great while you get a real stunner, like the Indian head cent I pulled from change once in the mid-1970s, nearly 70 years after they'd stopped being minted altogether. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the Memorial back cents to disappear once the new permanent reverse design is released next year (last I saw, the one they were leaning toward is *not* impressive, though... *sigh*).

Although I do like high grade pieces, there's a lot in what you say If it ain't fun too, why bother doing it? Sure, I like the higher grades when I can get them, but a beat-up penny has lived. I've got a 1900 in hand right now, I'd honestly put it no higher than G-VG. And I can't help but wonder, whose pockets did it pass through? Did it come to America with a tourist, an emigrant, a doughboy coming home, a war bride like my great-aunt? How did it get to Ohio of all places? In comparison, a BU piece has a bright lustre, but a dull history. It got locked away and looked at. It never bought a piece of candy, or got tossed for heads or tails. Sure, I'd love to get my hands on some XF/AU/BU Victorias some day, but I'll always be a collector for the fun of it first.

I'm firmly in the 'buy what you like and enjoy having it' camp. If someone's buying for an investment, they may as well stick to bullion issues. I'd much rather try to predict what silver and gold are going to do rather than what the next hot trend among collectors is going to be. Personally, I like having a couple low-grade common dates around just to actually feel the weight of the coin without worrying about degrading it or carry one as a good luck piece. Heck, I've been known to use a well-circulated Scottish shilling to mark my ball on the green--over on this side of the Atlantic it's a conversation starter, and besides, they invented the blasted game, so I'm hoping it curries desperately-needed favor with the golf gods.