I have a https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5616.html that is in such poor condition I can only tell that it is this coin by the fact that the shield was high enough to have survived all the ware, there are absolutely no traces of any words and only after I figured out what it was did I notice a very faint 9 and a spot that was the other 9, its slightly smaller than 30 mm. I could not make out if the bust was a man or woman only that it was facing right.
It seems to me that no one would want this, I can't swap it and if it were melted it would only make the rest more valuable. actually that got me thinking that if there was a way to catalog all the coins that were in such poor shape and then melt them that would be a good thing to keep up with? However I think people would use that to scam. Now I know that some people are really mad at me for suggesting melting any coin, but its not really a coin anymore.
I actually have about a pound of dismal coins that I got in a bulk buy.
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
It's a hard call. I remember all the pre 1920 UK silver coins being melted during the 1970's, they were regarded as junk but those same coins 40 years later would be eagerly snspped up by collectors.
There must be a line where a common date coin becomes so worn or damaged that it will never have any numismatic value. I have a steadily increasing stash of such coins. One day I'll probably turn it into cash. I'm confident that nobody would want these ugly beasts in their collection.
On the other hand I have a lot of Morales 1 peso coins. These are not widely collected but I pick them up whenever I can find them. They have a some value as bullion being 10% silver but I would never allow these to be melted because I like them so much, they feel like coins ought to feel and look magnificent in a pile! I don't collect them, I hoard them. It's hard to explain.
Non illegitimis carborundum est. Excellent advice for all coins.
Make Numismatics Great Again!
I think the market is a useful tool (although not perfect) to access whether or not to scrap a coin. We should preserve examples of coins for the future because they are an important part of our history. But if a coin has no cash value then it means that demand is fulfilled for that coin. If a coin if in VF condition and is worth nothing then their must be loads of EF, UNC and BU examples so i would consider it except-able to scrap it.
Also i think not only are we obliged to preserve coins for the future we are just as obliged to recycle as demand for the raw materials is high and fulfilling that demand can make a genuine difference to peoples lives.
I agree with scrapping coins that are heavily worn: but I haven't done anything like that yet. However, I do think that in the world there must be collectors who collect some of the most worn coins. Sounds strange but there must be somebody that does...but not for scrap metal.
Quote: alastairBut if a coin has no cash value then it means that demand is fulfilled for that coin. If a coin if in VF condition and is worth nothing then their must be loads of EF, UNC and BU examples so i would consider it except-able to scrap it.
I'm sorry, alastair, but I have to take issue with you on this one. Just because a coin has little or no cash value is no excuse for destroying it. A coin in VF grade is still a perfectly sound and collectable piece even if noone seems to want it at the moment; once all the XF and UNC examples have been stashed away in collections then they will become desirable items again. However, I would consider it acceptable to melt down a coin that had become so worn that to all intents and purposes it had become a blank metal disc.
Just because you can't see it ... doesn't mean it isn't there - Anon.
Quote: alastairBut if a coin has no cash value then it means that demand is fulfilled for that coin. If a coin if in VF condition and is worth nothing then their must be loads of EF, UNC and BU examples so i would consider it except-able to scrap it.
I'm sorry, alastair, but I have to take issue with you on this one. Just because a coin has little or no cash value is no excuse for destroying it. A coin in VF grade is still a perfectly sound and collectable piece even if noone seems to want it at the moment; once all the XF and UNC examples have been stashed away in collections then they will become desirable items again. However, I would consider it acceptable to melt down a coin that had become so worn that to all intents and purposes it had become a blank metal disc.
The point is that some coins have such high mintages that it would take so long for the VF examples to have demand that holding on to them would be pointless. Yes the nicer ones will get held in peoples collections but they will die and their coins will go back on the open market before the VF example are desireable again. I bought some UNC Silver venezuela i think they were from the 60s at scrap value i looked them up in the book and all they had was bullion value, these are delightfull little coins which i would never scrap but i would certainly scrap VF examples of the same coins.
One thing i will state though is when scrapping coins you should be very carefull you dont scrap rare varieties, if your not sure dont scrap.
