Nickel roll hunting for the first time

MAN2004

I just picked up $62 in CR nickels at the bank. Are there any dates/MM worth keeping besides the 40% 42-45s? Thank you for any help!

JBK

I think the war nickels are 35%, but it's (almost) free silver either way.

amwldcoin

I've been tossing back pre 1960's for years. I knew 1 dealer that was paying 7 cents. Never sold him any though.

Aotearoa

1950-D

Mdcoincollector2003

1938 D and S, 1939 D and S, 1950 D, 1950, 1955, war nickels, and proofs. Some people including me save all pre 1960s. I would definitely at least save 38 & 39 Philadelphia not too the better dates.

Type2

I try to keep the nice stuff what ever catch's my eye I'm funny that way. But I use to look at the PCGS price guide if there was any verities to look for and the cherry picker that helps a lot. If it looks off I'll hold it to the side so you can do more research on it.

Oldhoopster

If youre going to CRH, or any type of collecting for that matter, I highly recommend buying a copy of A Guide Book of United States Coins, commonly called the redbook. While the pricing guide may not be the most up to date, it's very easy to get a relative idea about which dates are common and which are worth saving. It's also filled with all kinds of info like mintages, weights, compositions and even basic grading standards for circulated coins and a little history.

I would be willing to bet that almost every experienced collector on this forum who started out collecting U.S. Coins, had a copy when they were a beginner. It's probably the best $10-15 you'll ever spend on the hobby

Kliao

2009 P and D are a bit harder too

JeffersonFrog

"worth keeping" is debatable, or perhaps more correctly, a personal choice. War nickels are at ~$1 melt and I find there is some merit in keeping the 38-D&S, 39-D&S, 42-D and 50-D issues. The Red Book is sound advice, and will help with some of the Jefferson varieties. Some of the varieties, like the 39-P and 45-P Double Monticello are pretty cool, but also unlikely to be sitting in a circulated roll.

If you want an "off the beaten path" input, I think the 41 Large S and 40-S/S (with die chips) are fun and can be seen with the naked eye.

mannie gray

@JeffersonFrog said:
"worth keeping" is debatable, or perhaps more correctly, a personal choice. War nickels are at ~$1 melt and I find there is some merit in keeping the 38-D&S, 39-D&S, 42-D and 50-D issues. The Red Book is sound advice, and will help with some of the Jefferson varieties. Some of the varieties, like the 39-P and 45-P Double Monticello are pretty cool, but also unlikely to be sitting in a circulated roll.

If you want an "off the beaten path" input, I think the 41 Large S and 40-S/S (with die chips) are fun and can be seen with the naked eye.

I found a 41-S large S in change a couple of weeks ago.
Kind of pitiful, but it made my day.🙂
Even with these aging eyes, yes, still a naked (though covered with glasses) eye variety.
Good advice from @JeffersonFrog.
I save all pre 1960 Jeff's.
The cutoff is somewhat arbitrary, because finding a 1960, 61, 62 Philly coin is much tougher than, say, a 57-D, 58-D, 59-D...but no one will pay a premium for them.
Try finding a 1971 Philadelphia coin.
Tough tough tough.

ricko

Nickels are great coins....the Jefferson's are (IMO) an area that does not receive a lot of attention by collectors. The Buffs have always been popular though. I am waiting for the mint to issue a W Jefferson...Now THAT will generate some interest, especially if done as they did with the quarters. Cheers, RickO

Aspie_Rocco

There are over 30 separate varieties just from 1938-1955. Doubled dies, triples, Re Punched Mint Marks, Over Mint Marks...

1938 DDO, 3 different types with a QDO
1939 DDO < super rare, DDR, QDR
1940 s/s
1941 large S, s/s small < super rare large S/S <super rare
1942 type 1 DDO, t1 rpm, t1 d/d/d horizontal
1942 type 2 RPM s/s and p/p
1943 3 different DDO
43D ddr, Rpm
44d rpm d/d
45 3 different DDO
45d DDO, 3 mainstream rpm,
Dozens and dozens of minor rpm and DDO/ ddr from 42-45
46 ddr < super rare
46 d/d/d rpm horizontal rare
46s DDO super rare
49 d/s
53 d d/d horizontal rare
54s s/s, s/d, ddr
55 d/s.

Also lots of weird but unimportant die cracks and minor ddr from 2006-present. Mostly on P mint coins.

erwindoc

Get a few folders and you will be surprised at how many holes you can fill! Nickel is a hard metal and they are much easier to roll search than pennies!

Testoon

1944 without mintmark (Henning counterfeit)

Infamustrueerrors

@Aspie_Rocco said:
There are over 30 separate varieties just from 1938-1955. Doubled dies, triples, Re Punched Mint Marks, Over Mint Marks...

1938 DDO, 3 different types with a QDO
1939 DDO < super rare, DDR, QDR
1940 s/s
1941 large S, s/s small < super rare large S/S <super rare
1942 type 1 DDO, t1 rpm, t1 d/d/d horizontal
1942 type 2 RPM s/s and p/p
1943 3 different DDO
43D ddr, Rpm
44d rpm d/d
45 3 different DDO
45d DDO, 3 mainstream rpm,
Dozens and dozens of minor rpm and DDO/ ddr from 42-45
46 ddr < super rare
46 d/d/d rpm horizontal rare
46s DDO super rare
49 d/s
53 d d/d horizontal rare
54s s/s, s/d, ddr
55 d/s.

Also lots of weird but unimportant die cracks and minor ddr from 2006-present. Mostly on P mint coins.

And 1938 not Jefferson but buffalo nickel DDO/DDR D over D RPM with misplaced S mint mark and almost full 5 legs...