I was digging through my change to buy a paper, and found a 1964D quarter. It’s got high silver content (90% silver, 10% copper) and is worth at least $6 -$7. Pretty cool, eh? I’m not a coin collector - I just noticed the edge of the coin didn’t have that two-tone appearance you’d expect to see on a quarter - the edge is all silver - so I looked it up on the interwebs. It’s in pretty decent shape, too.
Pretty cool.
This makes me wonder if coins stay in circulation forever or if the US government tries to get back the really old ones.
Oddly enough, the same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and it’s the first time in many years that I’ve gotten an all-silver coin in change. I didn’t know it was all silver at first, but I did notice that there was one coin in my pocket that was making an odd ringing sound when it hit against the others; also it was definitely whiter.
when I was a kid in the late 60’s and collecting coins, I would buy rolls of dimes or quarters and usually would get 1-2 silver coins per roll. Now, I guess it’s pretty rare. Doubt if the government does anything proactively to remove these from circulation - people like you do that for them.
My mother is a cashier in a college cafeteria, and has been for 28 years. She’s been collecting the silver coins that people give her the entire time she’s been doing the job. I didn’t realize they were already worth that much, though. She will be pleased to hear it!
Not as valuable as your quarter, but about a dozen years ago I pulled a Buffalo nickel out of my pocket. I really got a kick out of that, even though I knew it was probably worth about 6¢.
.
I used to work in a bowling alley. Over a two week period, I took in a couple silver quarters, several silver dimes and a twenty dollar gold certificate. It was pretty obvious some kid or kids were raiding a parent’s collection and spending it.
Here’s a quick guide to Buffalo nickel values. Buffalo or Indian Head Nickel Values and Prices
cheap ones is “good” conditions are worth 35 cents. I should find a place that sells buffalo nickels and get a few for my kids. Heck, I need to find my old box in storage and pull out the coins I collected at 8-10 years old.
My husband has received a bunch of them lately. We coudln’t figure out where he was getting them but we finally realized it the last time he got one - from the OTB at Arlington Park! Someone must have gone and dipped into their stash to bet the horses or something and he would get them when he’d cash in his tickets.
I collected coins as a kid and I read as much about the hobby as I could get my hands on. I remember reading stories about older collectors re-introducing cheap but scarce coins back into circulation with the thought that finding one would make some young numismatist’s day.
Even as a lad, I thought that was a really cool idea.
mmm
I found a wheat penny in my change a few months back. It’s worth 3x it’s face value!
It’s time travelers, you know. When they come here, they figure a US coin from pre 2000 is safe to use, so they use them to buy their lottery tickets. As long as they stick to the small prizes, no one notices.
Tris
Spend it wisely, grasshopper.
.
In the US, in the past 10 years, I’ve received a few pennies from the 1920’s, a silver dime, and paper money going back to the 1960’s. No silver certificates, but I’ve received a few old $1 Federal Reserve Notes that look nearly identical to ones made today, and a few “small portrait” 5’s, 10’s, and 20’s. Now, I remember those old small portrait bills from earlier days when they were current issue, but it’s been a while.