Was going though some old stuff in the garage today and out popped a coin. Looked like a dime.
It was a dime. From the country of Hawaii. Under the reign of King Kalakaua I. Dated 1883. This seems in fairly good condition. You can read everything, there is some tarnish on the back, but overall it’s in nice shape and a 5X loupe doesn’t show any abrasions from someone ineptly trying to clean it. It is the same size as a dime is today.
Being the non-coin collector I am, I’m pretty sure if I’d found a coin like that I’d dig around to try to find my silver polish. Please explain to this idiot why that’s a bad idea.
The coin looks just fine the way it is; there’s no distracting dirt or crud on the coin. If someone polishes it, the letters and large flat areas, including the portrait, will be shiny, but you can never get into all of the crevices and edges around each letter, which will make it look very unnatural.
A more interesting question is why was this in your garage? It’s somewhat rare, something that someone didn’t just accidentally get in pocket change. Any ideas?
