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[L#0249] 1839 25c EF40 whizzed

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:60.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 150.00 USD
[L#0249] 1839 25c EF40 whizzed
Whizzed.

Prevalent in the 1970s, a few notorious characters took up the trade of "whizzing" coins. By pushing a high-grade (usually Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated) coin such as this 1839 quarter, against a whirring wire brush wheel, a person could impart falsified (but easily spotted) "luster." This tricked novices, of course, but never a trained collector. Out went a hue and cry, and the whizzers hightailed it into other more lucrative professions like offering Ponzi-style real estate investments. Once in awhile a whizzed coin from that decade surfaces, although fortunately this is becoming less common. It is hoped the successful bidder will carry this piece in his pocket for a few weeks to wear away its false luster in the hope that no future collector will be cheated.