The 1944 cents were made out of spent shell casings. Early recycling. There are both wrong date copper cents and wrong date steel cents. The "war nickels" you won't find in circulation as they were 40% silver. Gresham's Law has taken them out of circulation. During the war, nickel was more "valuable" as noted. I do occasionally find 1939-1942 nickels from before the change.
Mercury?? Curious as to when those were taken out of circulation. In high school science, the teacher had what was probably 750ml of mercury in a glass bottle that he used to demonstrate how much denser/heavier than mercury is compared to water. Stored it in the storage room. I kid you not—a bunch of 9th graders picking up a glass bottle of mercury. That was in the early 80’s. These days, if you dropped a mercury thermometer, they’d evacuate the school. Good times...
I'll assume this is tongue-in-cheek. The dimes made from 1916-1945 had an obverse ("heads") design showing a personification of liberty wearing a cap with wings. It is popularly called a mercury dime because of the similarity to the Roman god mercury. The coin as a whole was designed to vaguely resemble a Roman Republican denarius, with fasces on the reverse ("tails"). I too continued to find them in circulation until the late 1960s, along with silver Roosevelt dimes. They left circulation by about 1968 when the rising price of silver made it worthwhile to pull them from circulation, and even non-collectors were able to distinguish the silver from the copper nickel-clad coins.
You can buy a Mercury Dime for as little $120 and they'll ship it you attached to a bottle of Napa Cab https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-.../orin-swift-cabernet-mercury-head/p/104191750
Whenever someone finds any of these special coins in circulation, there is a 99% chance it has the same story: The old guy, who knew what it was, was keeping it. But then he died. (Or, had a stroke or something like that). Then the widow and the kids got their hands on it. They didn't know what it was, except that it's money. Money is for spending. So, they spent it. (Or rolled a bunch of them up and took them to the bank. Or dumped them in a coinstar.) I have tried hard to make sure my wife and daughter know better. I can only hope it works.
The one I found is way too dinged/scratched up to be that. Given the very weathered pennies that were also in that small pile, I expect someone might have found it with a metal detector. But, by and large, you are correct. Halves can be an exception. There are rolls in vaults that haven't been touched in 40-50 years, if you find the right bank. One other fun hunt is using a $5 in the machines that give back dollar coins. I've found a number of limited circulation dollars (a couple Kennedy's for example) that way--plus 4-5 proof dollars that found their way into circulation. I'd not be surprised if the Mint was dumping some of their imperfect ones into circulation...
I'm one of the eccentrics who gets rolls of dollar coins from the bank, to put into circulation. I find I typically find one post-Garfield coin per roll. I suspect investors buy them up semi-direct from the mint in the aftermarket, check for the super MS64 and ups, and put the losers into circulation. I have a near complete date & mint set of "golden" presidential dollars pulled from circulation that way. As for metal detectorists, the old guy who was keeping it because knew what it was may have initially found it that way. Metal detectorists have a literature which keep them pretty well aware of the treasures they hope to find, and that definitely includes coins. I am not one (it does sound like fun, though), but from casual conversations with them I'm told the best place for them to hunt is the beach: the water is cold and rings slip off.
Yes. My daughter had a six-months college internship in Naples. When the temperature plunges all the way down to 68, the locals put on jackets. They're cold. I guess, people adapt.
I was referring to the use of metal detectors on the beach. Seems to be an old person with skimpy clothing activity.
I know, I know, Lycra is a privilege, not a right. Speaking as an old person, anything that motivates geezers to get a little exercise, and to notice coins in the bargain, is a good thing. Avert your eyes if you must!
I was in Ft. Lauderdale last February for a few days before a cruise and would jog on the wonderful seaside sidewalk along A1A in the mornings. Not only were the old fogies with their metal detectors out in force, more than one of the older men was wearing nothing but a banana hammock. You can't unsee that.
In case you want to sing along... Hunched in the corner of the dressing-room, trying to get back to the real... Uh-oh, here they come, ready for their meal: Energy Vampires, crawling out of the wall, they want to steal my vitality, they want to drink it all. This guy says that he wrote all my songs, this girl says she's had my baby - me, I don't know them from Adam and Eve, sometimes I really believe I'm going crazy. "Excuse me while I suck your blood, excuse me when I phone you, I've got every one of your records, man, doesn't that mean I own you?" Oh, sure, I long ago decided to make myself an exponent of public possession in the private obsession zone. But now I'm serious, let's be serious, I'm not selling you my soul, try to put it in the records but I've got to keep my life my own. One thing I've not got a lot of is time and it's slipping away... I've got a life to live too.
Wheat pennies used to be fairly common not that long ago. I've seen (but never owned) a $20 Double Eagle.
About ten years ago, I started a collection of the state quarters (two per state.) I have about a full set... I guess I sort of lost interest somewhere along the way. The bicentennial quarters also don't come around too often these days. I'm sure I've seen the newer designs, but it's a lot easier to use the card for everything, thus no coins come across my path.
Mathew McConnaughy is at the LAFC game wearing a ridiculous hat and an Austin shirt, chumming around with Will Ferrell.
Like that's a new thing. I remember confusing a girl in a Walden Books in the early 80s when I handed her a dime on like a $16.10 purchase after handing her a $20 bill. She had already entered the $20 in the computer while I rummaged through my pocket for the dime. Needless to say, I left the store with a pocket full of coins because she HAD to give me 90 cents in change. Where I work, recently, they decided they had to charge us tax in the food counter. They hadn't in the past, because, food. Anyhow, my $1 morning coffee now costs $1.07. They hadn't raised prices on coffee in a while, probably 5 years or more, but everyone complained about now having to pay tax. I told the cashier that they would have been better off just raising the price of the coffee to $1.10, or $1.25 and burying the tax in the price increase. I'm annoyed because I have to remember to keep coin in my car so that when I get my cup on the way in, I don't have to leave with $0.93 in coin.
In the early 90s I lived in Kenya for six months, based out of Nairobi. An uncle of mine came to visit; an avid windsurfer, so we scheduled a trip to the coast, staying south of Mombasa at an area well-known for quality wind surfing. Anyway, the various beach hotels in the area tended to cater to travelers from particular countries; UK travelers in one place, Italians in another. Ours ended up being a German hang out. And hang out it did. Cuz, as I was quick to observe, Germans of any age seemed totally cool with nude sunbathing. And the average age of people staying in this place looked to be well north of 60. Naked German grandmas on the beach. Mein Gott im Himmel.
Or a dollar coin. I have had the same experience recently. Gave a person a penny plus a bill so I could get a nickel back. Got 5 pennies. Arrgh.
Apparently this happened at LAFC... 🚨ALERT: Matthew Mcconaughey is wearing an @AustinFC shirt to an @LAFC match sitting beside Will Ferrell 🚨 #spicy pic.twitter.com/hYjRvVqlW3— Rachel Bonnetta (@rachelbonnetta) May 25, 2019