Now six years ago, I started
a series of entries showcasing some coins I had been carrying in my pocket for several years with the intent of slowly wearing them down because they were of designs that were almost certain never to be seen in heavily circulated grades. While I'm not happy with how the coins have started looking because the coins are only wearing from metal on metal contact rather than by passing from hand to hand so the wear looks mushy rather than polished.
For instance, I have cents from the 1920s worn down to Good/About Good and the mintmark is still legible but the 1974-S Lincoln Cent I've been carrying around for over ten years now, the mintmark is an illegible mush and I'm not sure as the coin continues to wear if that will fix itself or just remain an indistinct mound.
Once again I had to take my old digital camera out of retirement to get the necessary shots as my current camera can't get in close enough. And again I tried to recreate the magic of the 2015 shoot to no avail even though I had the metering and f-stop information. Oh well...
So without further ado, let's get to this, my last real reason to keep signing into this blog-making site (for the 2017 entry, click
here):
(click on photos to enlarge)
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| 2007 Silver American Eagle: 8-9 years wear |
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Once again, I cleaned off the accumulated gunk before photographing this coin. The lettering of E PLURIBUS UNUM is still hanging on and the rim remains strong but the rest of the coin continues its flattening...
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| 1978 Eisenhower Dollar: about 7 years wear |
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| 1978 Kennedy Half Dollar: 5-6 years wear |
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| 1999 Susan B. Anthony Dollar: 9-10 years wear |
Although not visible in the picture, the SBA Dollar has been taking unusual wear lately. Her portrait shows many nicks and I'm not sure what caused them. The larger coins circulate more smoothly for some reason but all their reeded edges have been worn smooth, something not seen on the well-worn reeded coins of yesteryear.
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| 1999 New Jersey State Quarter: about 9 years wear |
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| 2017 New Jersey America the Beautiful Quarter: 1½ years wear |
I'm still waiting for Washington's spaghetti hair on the State Quarter to smooth out and the Delaware crossing is practically a silhouette. The ATB quarter is starting to show signs of high surface wear and the restored obverse portrait I suspect will show indistinctness quickly as its relief is far too shallow...
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| 2005 Jefferson Nickel [first issue]: 9-10 years wear |
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| 2005 Jefferson Nickel [second issue]: 9-10 years wear |
The exclamation points in the caption, "Ocean in View! O! The joy!" are not wholly absent but no longer photograph.
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| 2001-P Jefferson Nickel: 9-10 years wear |
The FIVE CENTS and certain letters of UNITED STATES, like the 2005 Ocean in View nickel, are still visible by eye, but no longer easily photograph.
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| 2009-P Jefferson Nickel: about 7 years wear |
The steps of Monticello are now being mushed out.
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| 1974-S Lincoln Cent: 9-10 years wear |
The protected areas of the design still show a bluish tint and the details of the design are increasingly absent. The coin looks really beat up under magnification.
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| 2010 Lincoln Cent: 9 years wear |
The Union Shield Cent doesn't seem as dark this year as it did in 2017. Wear points are evident as brighter areas (which is true for all the "Zincolns" in this patience project). Given how ONE CENT looks on the obverse, it is definitely a possibility that the denomination will wear off as the coin continues to wear. A modern-day Type I Buffalo Nickel...
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| 2009 Lincoln Cent [first issue]: about 7 years wear |
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| 2009 Lincoln Cent [second issue]: about 7 years wear |
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| 2009 Lincoln Cent [third issue]: about 7 years |
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| 2009 Lincoln Cent [fourth issue]: about 7 years wear |
All these designs are very mushy and indistinct now
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| Angel token: 6 years wear |
Once again, if I'm still around in two more years, I'll post again with updated imagery. Here's to hoping I can recapture that 2015 lighting/metering magic...
