Why so many 40's era silver coins?

[Grunter]

On Tues. I found my biggest silver yet a 1943 Walking liberty. Yesterday I found a 1945 Mercury dime. It seems like most of my silver coins hit somewhere in the early 40's especially 43,44,45. It just makes me wonder why so many lost in those date ranges. I found several Wheaties ranging from 1909 thru 1950.

 

[JamieR]

I dont have an answer but most of the silver i find is mostly from the forties as well.

 

[viking rich]

I think it all depends how much silver is in the coin like over in the uk a silver sixpence can register low on the number scale or really high 70s 80s as some coins depending on date av more silver in them some are only 50% silver so would be lower then a older coin witch is 95.2% silver just a thought that the coins u av found might not av high silver in them and why they are coming up so low

 

[Grunter]

Viking Rich, I'm referring to the dates of the coins I find and not the VDI numbers. The American silver coins of the 40's are 90% silver to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Johnny Cache]

North America was booming in the 40's, especially the years following WWII. For example, search "mercury dime mintage" on google, you see mintages in the 1920's and 30's of 2 to 20 million coins minted each year. Then, the 1942 Merc had 205 million minted. I have noticed a lack of 1920's and 30's silver coins in my detecting finds too.

 

[viking rich]

Or sorry mate I must of miss understud the post:$

 

[mudpuppy]

Good topic...those 40 era coins might have been lost in the mid to late 50's when there was a lot of us kids running around and playing outside a lot...
Mud

 

[Grunter]

Found another 1945 Mercury today in a yard 10 miles from Thursdays find.

 

[jmorton04]

My theory:
The great depression had ended and the whole country was involved in the war effort and then the post war boom.
During the depression, there was a lot of bartering going on, and money was in short supply due the the devastated economy. My dad told me that, during the depression, you could buy 3 lbs of steak or 3 lbs of hamburger for 25 cents. Unfortunately, most people did not have 25 cents. Losing a dime from your pocket was a dent in the family cash flow. If a kid found a dime or a nickle, you turned it over to mom. As the1930's ended, people's spending habits took a while to change. I was born in 1953 and as a kid, a dime was still a fortune. As late as 1963, we used to comb the ditches for pop bottles to sell at the store. ,
People just held onto coins tighter in the 1930's and so fewer were lost, and many of those were recovered quickly. Everyone walked more and everyone would stop and pick up a found penny.
By the middle 1940's and afterwards, the economy was better and there was more money in circulation. Of course, most of it was coins and 1 and 5 dollar bills. Most vending machines took nickels and dimes. Some did take a quarter, but they would often gyp you so we mostly carried dimes or nickels. It would be hard to estimate the millions of man hours spent by merchants and vendors accepting pennies and nickels for merchandise or to give a dime for the coke/candy machine.
I think that the 1940's, 50's and up to about 1965, people were losing coins about as much as you would expect something so common to be lost. The depression years were time of scarcity and hoarding, silver coins were precious, and you kept up with them.
I also think that after FDR called in all the gold, the people had a tendency to hoard the silver coins, so in the 1930's people would have hoarded gold coins if they could have, but the had to keep eating, so any plans to save gold ended pretty quickly. So people saved silver if they could. By the fifties, a new generation was earning and spending, and the economy was much better. People had "money to burn", even if it was all small bills and coinage. People had more coins, and people lost more coins.

HH,
John Morton

 

[senda]

I like the John Norton theory, is a logical theory.
kind regards