Nickle weighing 5.3 grams

Zoee · February 12, 2021 9:34PM

Hello I have a 1987 jefferson nickle weighing at 5.2 almost 5.3 with a thick rim. Could I get some advice

Zoee · February 12, 2021 9:36PM

ɹoʇɔǝlloɔ · February 12, 2021 10:18PM

wow - weird - ATS 12 yrs ago, someone shared this; an 87-D rolled thick planchet, but weighing 5.7 g

and then, on another forum a couple yrs ago, someone says this as a response to someone asking about a nickel weighing 5.3-5.4 g

"Scales which weigh to 2 decimals in grams are more helpful. Those which weigh to only one decimal leave room for inaccuracy because of rounding. Expected weight is 5.000 g +/- 0.194 g This coin may be on a slightly rolled thick planchet. The likelihood is that it is not rolled thick enough to be collectible. Expected thickness is 1.95 mm +/-0.102 mm. If the thickness of the coin exceeds these parameters then it would be considered collectible. (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/just-a-heavy-nickel.351408/)"

do you have digital calipers to measure thickness of your nickel?

Zoee · February 12, 2021 11:00PM

No but I think I will invest it definitely weighs 5.3. It's strange that these are both 1987

AUandAG · February 12, 2021 11:25PM

can you sandwich between a couple of regular nickels and take a pic for us?

bob

ɹoʇɔǝlloɔ · February 12, 2021 11:32PM

@AUandAG said:
can you sandwich between a couple of regular nickels and take a pic for us?

bob

smart way to 'measure' the thickness 💪🧠

JBK · February 13, 2021 2:11AM

In most cases a thick rim is just a sign of a well struck coin (check out proof coins).

PerryHall · February 13, 2021 2:52AM

@Zoee What's a "nickle"?

Oldhoopster · February 13, 2021 7:43AM

@Zoee said:
Hello I have a 1987 jefferson nickle weighing at 5.2 almost 5.3 with a thick rim. Could I get some advice

@Zoee said:
No but I think I will invest it definitely weighs 5.3. It's strange that these are both 1987

Does it weigh 5.2 or 5.3 on your scale?

As stated earlier, the weight tolerance is +/- 0.194 grams, so a nickel weighing 5.194 gms is in spec. If it weighs 5.2 gms on a level, calibrated scale with a 0.1 gm resolution, it may or may not be out of spec. Even if it's overweight by a few hundredths of a gram, it would be a very minor error and not add any extra value

Crypto · February 13, 2021 7:46AM

There are smart people on this board. Not all of us mind you but many.

Fitzon00 · January 1, 2024 4:09PM

Hello I also have found a beautiful 1987D nickel that weighs 5.2. My scale is accurate. My other nickels weigh 5.00grams

jmlanzaf · January 1, 2024 4:13PM

@Fitzon00 said:
Hello I also have found a beautiful 1987D nickel that weighs 5.2. My scale is accurate. My other nickels weigh 5.00grams

Within tolerance

Greenstang · January 1, 2024 5:41PM

You have to coins to two decimal points.
5.2 g could easily be 5.17 which would be within the tolerance of 5.19g

BStrauss3 · January 2, 2024 12:10PM

@Oldhoopster said:
As stated earlier, the weight tolerance is +/- 0.194 grams, so a nickel weighing 5.194 gms is in spec. If it weighs 5.2 gms on a level, calibrated scale with a 0.1 gm resolution, it may or may not be out of spec. Even if it's overweight by a few hundredths of a gram, it would be a very minor error and not add any extra value

Also - tolerance is not specified generally in the law, especially for minor coins (Secretary's discretion). And generally, tolerance has a percentage attached to it, allowing for some percentage of pieces to be heavy or light.

If you take 0.194 to be 2 standard deviations (a normal distribution will have 95% of items within 2 SD plus or minus around the mean - this is a slight fudge, but commonly used)... 99.7% will be within 3 standard deviations (or 0.291g) and thus out of 1,000 coins...

950 will be between 4.709 and 5.194
a further 23.5 will be between 4.612 and 4.806 and 23.5 between 5.194 and 5.291.
3 will be under 4.709 or over 5.291...

With those #s you cannot say the process is out of control. Now any given sample of 1,000 coins might have a different distribution - it's only mathematically value for the entire population.

For precious metal coins, the tolerance isn't actually specified either, but a floor is given - so you never get a short-weight gold coin.

Nickle weighing 5.3 grams

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