Jefferson's

keets

Went to an auction today. the owner was 94 and while there was a wide variety of coins. most were circs. one thing i did get were two unopened rolls of 1969-D jefferson nickels.

how depressing to look through them all and not even come close to a coin that approximates FS. the closest i came was 3-2-2-2 and about MS63. am i the only one who figures there are some dates that just don't exist in full step? the rolls were the old shotgun type, unopened and the coins had nice sharp rims and booming luster. i've done more roll and mint set searching for some of the mid-50's thru late-60's dates then i'd like to admit and it always seems to be the same old thing. why were so many coins poorly struck for so long?

al h.

littlewicher

I think that there exists a FS for every date, it's just the matter of finding it. I've also searched many unopened BU rolls looking for FS coins in the rarer dates. I haven't found them yet.

leothelyon

Hi Keets
I once went thru a US mint bag, 4000 nickels but it only produced 2-3 MS65's with 3cs plus partial steps. My best find was from a mint set. It had 3cs and 50 to 60% of the 4th, 5th and 6th steps. It was also very prooflike and had an extra thick planchet. It was an easy MS66 but sold it on ebay for $56. I wish I still had it and the guy I sold it to is aware that I'm a buyer when he gets tired of it. Back in the early 1990's when I was somewhat naive I had passed on a chance to buy a 5.25 4cs MS64 69-D for $45 and I know who has it who claims to have the only (PAK count) full step 69-D. But all was not lost as this seller sold me the 53-S I have and a few other great FS nickels.
As for the dates minted in the 50's and 60's, I think the Korean and Vietnam wars, the 3 assassinations and politics all played some role in the low quality of coins for most dates minted for those years.

Leo