Loving the Unloved: Relic Coins are Evocative

A relic should look the part.

Green verdigris has built up on the surface, threatening to
swallow up stars and numbers, whereas copper oxides steal
electrons underneath. As the verdigris thickened,
it flaked off leaving a ruddy shadow in low relief.
This is the tipping point in the death of a lost cent.

   Old coins can be evocative, but relic coins steal the show. Unfortunately, most collectors have lost (or more likely, have suppressed) the sense of wonderment that pulls one to embrace a grounder that is coming apart.
   Yet, relic coins are beautiful because of this!
   More than a few essayists have noted that ruined edifices can be more beautiful than when new. The English poet John Dyer expressed this sentiment in 1746 in reaction to the ruins of Rome: "The triumphal arches are more beautiful now than they ever were, there is a certain greenness, with so many colors [that] add certain beauties that could not be before imagined."
   Later commentators, like Christopher Woodward in his sensitive book In Ruins, have remarked that the aesthetics of decay is more than just the colors; it is the struggle that is captivating.
   It is the conflict between man and nature -- when nature is winning -- that captures our attention, draws us closer, making it hard to look away.
   Yet, to some collectors, a relic coin is one to be avoided. Some collectors are even apologetic about having a coin that is corroded or damaged. Relic coins are just scudzy, and that is that.
   I don't think so.
   I have seen a many very fine 1818 cents, many with smooth fields, pleasing butternut tone, sharp details, and all the other trappings of youth (and/or a sheltered life): one in a hundred. Nice.
   But few pieces are as evocative as the one I show you today.