For What Years Are FS Nickels Rare?

gamr0n

I was wondering what years a FS nickel is rare in. Particularly the years that will bring a large premium, so I can go search for some

100proof1957

Try a 1954 S on for size !

Coxe

52, 53, 53-S, 54-S, 55-D, 56-D, 60, 60-D, 61, 61-D, 63-D, 65, 66, 67, 68-D, 68-S, 69-D, 69-S, and 70-D. Some of the dates in the '60s are extremely difficult. I'd concentrate on all dates form that decade.

TorinoCobra71

Seems lately Early to Mid 60's seem to be going for some good $$$$$

TC71

cladking

<< <i>Seems lately Early to Mid 60's seem to be going for some good $$$$$

TC71 >>



The later '60's issues are scarcer in most cases but sell for less because of much lower demand. This is likely to change in time.

leothelyon

You can see what I've accumulated in 15 years in my profile. (pair of glasses in upper right corner :cool

Leo

mrearlygold

Is there a FS Jefferson Nickel Club or organization? I thought I remembered years and years ago ( late 70's maybe? ) that there was but for the life of me I can't remember details.

pontiacinf

im in process of ripping apart 100 OBW rolls each date of 60-D and 63-D and have about 25 OBW rolls of 65, all from a deal I bought in 2000. Ive gone thru about 1/3 so far, and so far the monticello appears to deffinately be handicap accessible

I was telling rampage this morning I just dumped the open ones in coinstar along with about 5k wheats mainly 40s and 50s

I dumped so much in there this morning it shut down, said it was full

Id like to know how much that sucker holds

anyhow the rest of the rolls will be opened soon. The coins are lusterous as all hell, but just no steps

Coxe

<< <i>I just dumped the open ones in coinstar along with about 5k wheats mainly 40s and 50s >>



$50 in wheaties? Should have donated them to a non-profit kids group (YN or Scouts, ...) and then take the redbook valuation or similar for a charitable deduction.

larrynj

here's a good general list - off the top of my head - far from comprehensive, feel free to disagree -
38-s
39-p var 1
39 d s any variety
42-p ty 1
42 44. 45 s mints
46-55 p mints
54-56 d mints
49-54 s mints
60- 70 p,d mints
68-70 s mints
76-80 p mints
82 pd mints
85 86 d mints

87 onward - most come with full steps so high quality is the thing to search for

OffMetal

<< <i>I was telling rampage this morning I just dumped the open ones in coinstar along with about 5k wheats mainly 40s and 50s >>



Dang I'd have given you at least double face for what you dumped in there

Hoot

<< <i>Is there a FS Jefferson Nickel Club or organization? I thought I remembered years and years ago ( late 70's maybe? ) that there was but for the life of me I can't remember details. >>



Yes! The Jefferson Full Step Nickel Club. I'm the editor of the newsletter. Here's the membership coordinator's information:

FSNC Membership Coordinator/Treasurer: Ed Dunbar
PMB# 182, 308 E. Burlington St., Iowa City, Iowa 52240
email: eddunbar@msn.com

Anyone who may want further information, please PM me.

Hoot

swhuck

I did a breakdown of dates a couple of weeks back for an article. Going strictly by number certified by major services with the full steps designation (either 5 or 6 steps), things broke down very much like this:

Most common (by far): 1943-D

Really common (over 1000 certified): 1940-D, 1941-D, 1944-D, 1950-D

Common (500-1000 certified): 1940, 1942-P, 1942-D, 1943-P, 1943-S, 1945-D, 1946-D, 1971-D, 1987-P, 2001-P.

Scarce (51-100 certified): 1938-S, 1939-D, 1939-S, 1948, 1949-S, 1951, 1951-S, 1952-D, 1952-S, 1953-D, 1954, 1954-D, 1955, 1962-D, 1964, 1964-D, 1972-D, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982-D, 1983-D

Rare (10-50 certified): 1949, 1952, 1953, 1953-S, 1954-S, 1955-D, 1956-D, 1960, 1961, 1963-D, 1968-S, 1970-S, 1979, 1981-P, 1983-P

Very Rare (1-9 certified): 1961-D, 1965, 1966, 1968-D, 1970-D

Unknown: 1960-D, 1967, 1969-D, 1969-S

There are under 1000 nickels from the 1960s as a whole certified with a full steps designation. 1943 was the biggest year for full steppers from every mint; presumably this had something to do with each mints' production standards and the changeover to the softer 35% silver composition.

So far, I haven't been able to get a handle on prices on these guys. PCGS, with the perceived tougher grading standards yet more lenient (until recently) standards for the Full Steps designation, seems to bring higher prices than NGC does, but many of these pieces still seem to be looking to find their proper home. I do know that if I want to own a type example of a coin with full steps, I'm looking for a 1943-D; those are understandibly quite affordable in grades up to MS66 and not terribly expensive even in MS67.

Whizzard

<< <i>I was telling rampage this morning I just dumped the open ones in coinstar along with about 5k wheats mainly 40s and 50s >>



What a telling assertion. You dumped 5K wheat cents in Coinstar? Normally those would go on eBay as unsearched cents for a substantial premium. Of course, given time, thats where those will end up as well.

cladking

Thanks Swhuck. Those are very interesting numbers.

I think the '70-S FS is very underappreciated. These probably all come from mint sets and they
tend to be very high grade as well as being well struck. A very large percentage of these mint
sets have already been destroyed (or checked) so there won't be much population growth over
the years.

One of the things that makes this series so fascinating is the tendency for the choice nickels to
be either well made or well preserved but not both. With other coins (especially moderns) there
is a lot of correlation between the strenght of strike of one segment and the strenght of strike
of the entire coin. There is also some correlation between strike quality and levels of preservation.
There is even a tendency for both sides of the coin to be similar in marking. None of this seems
to apply to the Jeffersons. In fact, there may be a tendency for an inverse relationship in the strike
of the steps and the overall strike for many dates. Finding superb nickels is an herculean task for
most dates. Putting together choice and gem sets of these is very instructive whether you seek FS
or not. Superb sets without FS are also very underrated.

Perhaps now that the old Jefferson design is retired it will induce people to bring their sets up to
date. Many people will be surprised how tough some of the '64 to '03 issues are even in lower
grades.

LindeDad

I sure know that in the last six month's that I have been looking for the 1964 and 1964 D In PCGS MS64FB or better there have only been three coins on the market and they where beat up 64's that sold for way too much. I sure would like to find these two coins in 65FB even though I know they will break the bank. They are the last two I need for Syl's 1964 Mint Set