Pocket change part II

We last saw this 1804 replica round on April 23rd (http://coins.aplawrence.com/2014/04/pocket-change.html).  It still had mirror fields then and although it was nicked and scratched, it retained much of its original luster.

Today it's starting to look pretty ragged.  There are still reflective surfaces, but there is also much more insult and abuse.  It's not quite a month since I put it in my pocket.

I wonder how many years to wear away that "Dexter Hendrickson" on the ribbon?  That refers to two of the owners of a particular 1804 dollar: James Vila Dexter and Leon Hendrickson.  Strangely, though , this replica is missing a "D" that should be in the second cloud from the right (see Book Review: Mark Ferguson's "The Dollar of 1804").

July 2014 - Luster is starting to go..

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

Contests and giveaways: http://coins.aplawrence.com/2014/05/contests-and-giveaways.html

Pocket Change

I bought a .999 slver round last week and carelessly dropped it onto concrete as I opened the package. It was in a plastic flip, but that broke open on impact and the coin suffered a nasty edge nick.

Oh, well. I put it in my pocket and mentally wrote it off as pure melt.

The rounds new friends in my pocket

But when I got home, I thought that it might be fun to document its condition as it bounces around in my pocket over the next few months or years. How long will it take to reach XF40, how long for VG20?

I snapped a photo after it had been in my pocket just a few hours.

First day

I'll be photographing it from time to time and posting them here.

Here we are after two days.

This is after four days in pocket.  Liberty's cheek is taking a beating.

And this is after five days.  The reverse is starting to show a few insults,  though the obverse is plainly taking the worst of it. The mirror fields are still visible on both sides, but it looks like they'll be gone soon.

Note:  All my other coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

At night, I take it out and lay it on my dresser so it can accumulate some dust and better air exposure.  I think it's having a fairly normal coin life, missing only the indignity of being swallowed by a vending machine now and then.   It might be getting a bit more jostling than most as I walk briskly for an hour or more most days and can hear it and the other coins clinking as I go along - I imagine most coins get long periods of rest from time to time.

But we'll see how it goes.  More at Pocket Change Part II.

This week's Coinweek Giveaway: http://www.coinweek.com/~cd53550787d934d

Also multiple contests going on at http://www.moderncoinmart.com/forum/forums/contests/