You can lick 85 year old stamps stamps all day and never get $20 worth of postage on a large three day box. People are using the higher denomination ones now days.
There's not enough room on a standard size envelope to use three cent stamps unless you're creative and use the back.
I said "up to 85 year old stamps".
Only a drooling dog with a huge envelope would try to meet the postage rate entirely with three-cent stamps. There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
@JBK said:
There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
@JBK said:
There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
Virtually all discount Forever stamps you see offered on the internet are Chinese counterfeits. Beware.
@JBK said:
There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
Virtually all discount Forever stamps you see offered on the internet are Chinese counterfeits. Beware.
A lot of people have "invested" in forever stamps. Sometimes to the tune of many thousands of dollars. When they die the stamps come into coin shops some times. These can be hard to move at scale so they sell at steep discounts.
@JBK said:
There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
Virtually all discount Forever stamps you see offered on the internet are Chinese counterfeits. Beware.
A lot of people have "invested" in forever stamps. Sometimes to the tune of many thousands of dollars. When they die the stamps come into coin shops some times. These can be hard to move at scale so they sell at steep discounts.
I'm not buying that. It sounds like one of your theories that you present as fact. Valid forever stamps, even in large quantities, are an easy sell at 5 or 10% discounts. No need for "steep discounts" on those.
Its one of the scenarios that the counterfeiters might use to explain why they have an endless supply of discount Forever stamps.
@JBK said:
There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
Virtually all discount Forever stamps you see offered on the internet are Chinese counterfeits. Beware.
A lot of people have "invested" in forever stamps. Sometimes to the tune of many thousands of dollars. When they die the stamps come into coin shops some times. These can be hard to move at scale so they sell at steep discounts.
I'm not buying that. It sounds like one of your theories that you present as fact. Valid forever stamps, even in large quantities, are an easy sell at 5 or 10% discounts. No need for "steep discounts" on those.
Its one of the scenarios that the counterfeiters might use to explain why they have an endless supply of discount Forever stamps.
I don't know. I have no expertise in stamps. The very few I've seen looked good and were held by a very reliable individual.
If all the war nickels ever made still existed then where are those nearly 200,000 bags of them. Are we to believe people put hated bags of war nickels into safety deposit boxes? Are there hundreds of bags in every coin shop? Do most coin collectors have a bag?
Most are gone and wear and attrition have been very uneven. Some of the most common coins have been largely spared and some of the scarcest have been virtually wiped out.
It is hardly unreasonable to believe collectors in the future (and present) won't collect rarity and value. It's what we do!
@cladking said:
Most are gone and wear and attrition have been very uneven. Some of the most common coins have been largely spared and some of the scarcest have been virtually wiped out.
Some dates abound in XF/ AU. Large percentages of '43-P, '43-S, and '45-S exist in high grade. The '45-S is lower mintage but 25- 30% are high grade. '43-P with its large mintage outnumbers them 10: 1 in high grade. The '43-S isn't so common in mid-grades but 5- 10% are high grade so is quite common. These coins won't be tough for many decades if ever.
But some of the low mintage coins have very few coins in mid or high grade. The '45-D is a little tougher and the '42-S isn't common in AU or in mid grades, but the '44-D and S are tough; the Denver in XF/ AU and the S in grades above G. The overdate is seen in VG or F but not much in higher grade. The RPM's and doubled dies are going to be the real toughies because of the way varieties go into circulation; in a limited area over a very limited time. If these aren't discovered and set aside early on then they can virtually all be consumed by wear and tear and nearly a century of attrition and melting. Some varieties common in G or AG will be quite scarce in F or better.
Jefferson nickels are widely collected and have been for decades but the absolute number of collectors is not very high leaving plenty of room for growth. If collecting continues expanding then the only place to get war nickels is from the silver stash because most collectors separate silver from the other dates. People hoarding from circulation find hundreds of pre-1960 non-silver nickels for each war nickel they find. The coins have already been separated.
Don't forget too that when collectors figure out that the post-1964 nickels are much scarer the whole series will get a shot in the arm and many modern collectors will go back and collect the older coins. There's really nowhere for them to come from because most have already been lost or melted.
How can you not understand that '50-D nickels were exceedingly common but went for hundreds of dollars apiece in todays money and that nice attractive 1976 nickels are far scarcer?
Same questions you asked me before. Do you understand the difference between speculation and collecting?
How can you not understand that the 1950-D nickel's price bubble was almost entirely the result of speculation? Are you capable of understanding that?
Speculation isn’t collecting. That’s why the bubble burst and the price is still lower 60+ years later, as speculators derive no utility from coins as collectables. No, you can’t unilaterally change word definitions and then impose it on anyone else as you’ve previously insisted on doing. Previously, you've intentionally misused "collecting" to describe speculation while simultaneously claiming prices below your preference make some coin "not collected" or "hardly collected". It's absurd.
Most post-1965 nickels are scarcer than the '50-D and often sell for less than a dime. How can you be so sure that these far scarcer coins won't start approaching the price of a '50-D TODAY. Nevermind what it was in 1964 where you still seem to live.
I've never claimed what you wrote here. You're shifting the goal posts, again. I've never claimed that the price of any US modern can't sell for the immaterial prices of the 1950-D nickel now or recently.
No, you've been implying that it's feasible for any number of US moderns to sell for equivalent inflation adjusted prices to the 1950-D nickel's 60's peak price. That's presumably the source of your outrageously inflated price claims in that one "raw moderns" post which are a complete fantasy.
As for 1964, you're the one who has been writing in this context. Writing about an imaginary coin market which doesn't even exist.
This might be impossible in your world where moderns can't take off any more than a plane from a conveyor belt but in my world I've been watching it for years. There is great demand for a '50-D (you don't need to sing its praises, I already like the coin) but someday every collection won't end at 1959. Perhaps even before that happens there will still be a mass market for the old coins.
**If demand for the old and new coins equalizes then it will force the prices of the new coins far higher than the '50-D.
You mean like those fantasy prices in your one "raw moderns" post?
I've done alright with Jefferson nickels, going on 36 years. Bought a house with one nickel and a car with another. I think I have made close to 6 figures over the years. Far more than what I have $ in them. I've worked everything from a monthly coin list mailer to a website, it really depends on the quality of coin that's collected. I don't have nor deal with mediocre coins, coins with weak strikes, lack luster, all marked up. Many of my coins including the war nickels are PL or semi-PL, a very rare quality for any coin/series. I've lost track on how many war nicks I have left in mint state, 70 to 80. Have sold a handful for thousands of dollars and quite a few others at lower costs over the years. The series has been quite good to me. No complaints whatsoever. My apologies if I have taken this topic off course. Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
Are you aware that an 1885 nickel is a $10,000 coin in Gem?
This is made out of the same metal and weight as a '50-D or '76 nickel. Are you suggesting these coins are all pocket change or that an 1885 is "different" in some ways (like it being on your approved list)?
What's a Gem '16/ '16 going for now days?
And low fineness silver nickels are less desirable by nature than cu/ni nickels in your world.
Utterly ridiculous.
My post didn't have anything to do with what you wrote. I'd never post anything so ignorant as you're using in your rebuttal.
I never claimed a coin like the 1885 in gem or UNC is a low preference coin. It's a series key date. It's also not cheap by hardly any collector's standards, meaning I'd never claim it's a low preference coin. Same thing for the 16/16 Buffalo nickel.
Furthermore, my claim of "low preference" has nothing to do with the metal content, so you're wrong again there too.
There is little point in arguing about market realty in a market as large and as mature as the US coin market. His argument basically boils down to the fact that the entire market is grossly inefficient and must some day catch up to his wisdom about what the "real market" should be. It's ludicrous. The market is what it is.
Yes, you're not far off here.
I wouldn't say it that way as I'm inclined to just point out that all things eventually return to the mean so collecting of 1976 nickels will probably approaching collecting of '50-D nickels some day.
There is no "mean" to return to. This is another claim you've entirely fabricated.
Yes, I'd guess 1976-D nickels or any other random date you decide to bring up may sell for similar prices generically as 1950-D nickels, but it's far more likely to be either when the latter loses value or its current USD price loses much of its current purchasing power.
There is little point in arguing about market realty in a market as large and as mature as the US coin market. His argument basically boils down to the fact that the entire market is grossly inefficient and must some day catch up to his wisdom about what the "real market" should be. It's ludicrous. The market is what it is.
I don't think like you do but anyone should appreciate the simple fact that far scarcer moderns sell for a fraction of the more common pre-1964 coins. 1982 nickels are at least four times scarcer (probably closer to ten times) than the '50-D and sell for less than one third the price. You can find accumulations of '50-D's even to this day but you'll find no accumulations of '82-P's.
The relative price of this coinage isn't due to the scarcity. Most price differences aren't due to the scarcity. It's (a lot) more than that.
I've never claimed that the price of any US modern can't sell for the immaterial prices of the 1950-D nickel now or recently.
This is the problem in a nutshell. You're assuming my meaning while imposing your standards and definitions on me and the entire hobby.
The '76 has already increased in price several fold and is STILL only 10% of the price of the far more common '50-D. And the '50-D is only 5% of its price in inflation adjusted dollars.
Who are you to say that the price of the '50-D today is "immaterial"? I suppose this means the scarcer '76 coin will have to increase another ten fold just to be "immaterial".
You've obviously never bought penny stocks!
You've obviously never collected 1976 nickels. Forgive us immaterial collectors.
@leothelyon said:
I've done alright with Jefferson nickels, going on 36 years. Bought a house with one nickel and a car with another. I think I have made close to 6 figures over the years. Far more than what I have $ in them. I've worked everything from a monthly coin list mailer to a website, it really depends on the quality of coin that's collected. I don't have nor deal with mediocre coins, coins with weak strikes, lack luster, all marked up. Many of my coins including the war nickels are PL or semi-PL, a very rare quality for any coin/series. I've lost track on how many war nicks I have left in mint state, 70 to 80. Have sold a handful for thousands of dollars and quite a few others at lower costs over the years. The series has been quite good to me. No complaints whatsoever. My apologies if I have taken this topic off course. Leo
Well, that's exactly my point. War nickels are much more than dirty ugly coins hated by the hobby and Jefferson nickels are each and all quite material. They aren't @WCC 's cup of tea but I like 'em and I stashed away a lot more nice 1976's than '50-D's. I've got lots of key dates that most collectors don't even know are key dates because they think the series ended in 1964 or they can't imagine that war nickels might be a growing market. Sure you can get VF 1941 nickels by the bucket but where are you going to get the '42-D in VF or the '82-P in MS-65?
Many collectors have a frame of reference fixed in 1964. It would never occur to them that there are far more 1947 nickels in circulation than there are 1971 and the '47's are in far higher grade. Nobody wants the few surviving 1971's but younger collectors don't have a 1964 frame of reference so they are starting to look.
My biggest profit was on a nickel as well. It was a Gem '70-S FS coin that brought well over a thousand but probably cost me less than a dime. Not a bad percentage profit.
Now I'll be lectured about how it's a one way market and it's stupid to buy moderns.
@WCC said:
Furthermore, my claim of "low preference" has nothing to do with the metal content, so you're wrong again there too.
So what is it then?
How many Gem '76 FS coins are in your collection. You know there are far far fewer of these than 1886 nickels don't you?
Twenty years ago you could find them but it gets tougher and tougher. Meanwhile there are nearly the same number of 1886's as there were twenty years ago.
@skier07 said:
I think some have way too much free time and/or are bored.
These are the people who are hoarding war nickels.
I have no doubt that collecting, hoarding, and dealing in morgan dollars or bust halves is just fine in your book but 35%, moderns, and BU rolls are all taboo.
I like war nickels and think nice ones are unappreciated.
Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Author of "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
@cladking said:
I have no doubt that collecting, hoarding, and dealing in morgan dollars or bust halves is just fine in your book but 35%, moderns, and BU rolls are all taboo.
I don't know much about these but google's search engine found this from Mystic Stamp;
_"Silver tax stamps were authorized by Congress on June 19, 1934, pursuant to the Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
"As a measure to stabilize the US economy and to prevent runs on banks, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the Gold Standard was abolished in 1933, and all gold bullion and gold coins in private hands were recalled. The government then feared that people would start hoarding silver bullion, causing further runs on US banks.
In order to curb the hoarding of silver bullion, the Silver Purchase Act of 1934 established the Silver Standard, called for the government to establish silver reserves to backup the silver certificate banknotes in circulation, and called for the cessation of the minting of silver dollar coins. The act also imposed a 50% tax on the profit realized on any transfer of silver bullion occurring after May 15, 1934 and provided for the use of silver tax stamps.
The new silver tax stamps were attached to transfer memorandums, indicating the payment of the federal silver tax. From 1934 to 1940, documentary revenue stamps were overprinted "SILVER TAX". New silver tax stamps were first produced in 1941."_
The "Series 1940" 5-cent silver tax stamp was part of a series of documentary revenue stamps issued to track and tax the transfer of silver bullion following the Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
Key details regarding the 1940 5c Silver Tax stamp:
Overprint: The stamp was produced by overprinting "1940" on existing documentary revenue stamps.
Color: The 1940 5-cent issue was in a rose-pink color.
Purpose: These stamps were used to pay a 50% tax on the profit from transfers of silver bullion, mandated to curb hoarding and support the Silver Standard established in 1934.
Context: They are classified as "Back of Book" (BOB) revenue stamps and were often attached to transfer memorandums, frequently featuring manuscript or pen cancellations.
+2
These are often categorized in philatelic catalogs under the "Silver Tax" (RG) section, with the 1940 5-cent stamp being a specific example of this, distinct from general 5-cent documentary stamps of that era, such as the 1940 Carmine red documentary stamp.
.
Some of these may well have been used to transfer bullion to make war nickels.
Google's AI has improved a lot and is a great search engine. Most AI's don't "like" being used for such a purpose.
@Creg said:
In the last sixteen days I acquired 212 lbs. of war nickels.
What are we gonna hoard next?
That's a lot of war nickels.
It includes about 150 nice '44-S's in good and better. Perhaps one 45 DDR. 1 henning nickel, "4" low grade '43/2's, and a couple dozen nice AU- and better '44-D's.
I wouldn't necessarily suggest you search them. It's a lot of dirty work and there might be little reward. But If you can sit on these until the backlog at the refineries are gone you should do quite well. I'm thinking you can trade unpicked over bags at a significant (albeit small) premium top melt which might be far higher. Almost all bulk war nickels trade at between 50 and 95% of melt so there's a lot of potential if you might be able to get 120% of melt from collectors in 5 or 10 years.
Most accumulations of these will run about 12% keepers but it's highly variable dependent on who assembled them and when.
Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Author of "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
That’s the boiling point. I mocked our hoarding tendencies. However, this thread did prompt me to fill gaps, so I I het up the market a tad for a couple of days. The butterfly sneezed.
Well, CK guaranteed you atleast one Henning nickel in that hoard. They sell for around $300, so that plus the other promised varieties and high grade circulated coins should make it worthwhile to sort through them.
That’s the boiling point. I mocked our hoarding tendencies. However, this thread did prompt me to fill gaps, so I I het up the market a tad for a couple of days. The butterfly sneezed.
ROFL.
But to have an effect this quickly would require a nuclear powered butterfly.
@JBK said:
Well, CK guaranteed you atleast one Henning nickel in that hoard. They sell for around $300, so that plus the other promised varieties and high grade circulated coins should make it worthwhile to sort through them.
It's a lot of work and the hennings are not easy to sell TMK.
I enjoy separating the wheat from the chaffe in nice clean moderns are dirty war nickels. Either way you have to wash your hands because raw moderns leave metal dust on you. I guess I work in the ditches of coin collecting to retrieve what should never have collected there.
@JBK said:
Well, CK guaranteed you atleast one Henning nickel in that hoard. They sell for around $300, so that plus the other promised varieties and high grade circulated coins should make it worthwhile to sort through them.
It's a lot of work and the hennings are not easy to sell TMK.
Hennings should be the easiest thing to identify in that pile. The color would likely be different but even more obvious is the missing giant mintmark above Monticello.
@cladking quizzed:
Are you sure it was merely 10,000 coins?
No, I picked a half dozen. No Hennings. But so did a half dozen other folks because of this thread. We’re insecure, driven by fomo, lead by your avuncular charisma. I have the clad, 212 is symbolic. Let’s move on to another hobby horse.
See? you’re making me want a Hennings.
Comments
Above, you said there were no accumulations. Rolls for sale would seem to disprove that.
I said "up to 85 year old stamps".
Only a drooling dog with a huge envelope would try to meet the postage rate entirely with three-cent stamps. There are lots of mid-values such as 10, 15, 18, 20, 25, etc. to get close, and then out come the small denominations. 😝
That's what I do. I asked Copilot about it and was told that was a smart thing to do.
One roll is not an "accumulation". There are probably still a few bags of '50-D's.
You can get forever stamps cheap too but are less frequently seen. There are all kinds of higher denominations that can make a dent in a shipment of war nickels that is $100 postage with insurance.
Virtually all discount Forever stamps you see offered on the internet are Chinese counterfeits. Beware.
I told Copilot you'd say that.
A lot of people have "invested" in forever stamps. Sometimes to the tune of many thousands of dollars. When they die the stamps come into coin shops some times. These can be hard to move at scale so they sell at steep discounts.
I'm not buying that. It sounds like one of your theories that you present as fact. Valid forever stamps, even in large quantities, are an easy sell at 5 or 10% discounts. No need for "steep discounts" on those.
Its one of the scenarios that the counterfeiters might use to explain why they have an endless supply of discount Forever stamps.
I don't know. I have no expertise in stamps. The very few I've seen looked good and were held by a very reliable individual.
i cant believe i read this........is there a silver war stamp im missing ?
Barrytrot(2),Stupid,Savoyspecial,docq,ecoinquest, halfhunter,snman,Coll3ctor.
wondercoin. Blue594. internetjunky.
keepdachange. Scrapman1077.Ahrensdad, mrmom, mygrandeoso, blu62vette, Clackamas,giorgio11, adriana, cucamongacoin,
How about this.
If all the war nickels ever made still existed then where are those nearly 200,000 bags of them. Are we to believe people put hated bags of war nickels into safety deposit boxes? Are there hundreds of bags in every coin shop? Do most coin collectors have a bag?
Most are gone and wear and attrition have been very uneven. Some of the most common coins have been largely spared and some of the scarcest have been virtually wiped out.
It is hardly unreasonable to believe collectors in the future (and present) won't collect rarity and value. It's what we do!
Some dates abound in XF/ AU. Large percentages of '43-P, '43-S, and '45-S exist in high grade. The '45-S is lower mintage but 25- 30% are high grade. '43-P with its large mintage outnumbers them 10: 1 in high grade. The '43-S isn't so common in mid-grades but 5- 10% are high grade so is quite common. These coins won't be tough for many decades if ever.
But some of the low mintage coins have very few coins in mid or high grade. The '45-D is a little tougher and the '42-S isn't common in AU or in mid grades, but the '44-D and S are tough; the Denver in XF/ AU and the S in grades above G. The overdate is seen in VG or F but not much in higher grade. The RPM's and doubled dies are going to be the real toughies because of the way varieties go into circulation; in a limited area over a very limited time. If these aren't discovered and set aside early on then they can virtually all be consumed by wear and tear and nearly a century of attrition and melting. Some varieties common in G or AG will be quite scarce in F or better.
Jefferson nickels are widely collected and have been for decades but the absolute number of collectors is not very high leaving plenty of room for growth. If collecting continues expanding then the only place to get war nickels is from the silver stash because most collectors separate silver from the other dates. People hoarding from circulation find hundreds of pre-1960 non-silver nickels for each war nickel they find. The coins have already been separated.
Don't forget too that when collectors figure out that the post-1964 nickels are much scarer the whole series will get a shot in the arm and many modern collectors will go back and collect the older coins. There's really nowhere for them to come from because most have already been lost or melted.
So, what do you think, Joe?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Thank you for asking.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
You're more than welcome.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I know people are interested in my theories.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I know i am.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I'll need the AI version in order to be sure jmlanzaf and jmlanzaf know what they are talking about. 🧐
Then you for that. So, let's have it.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
There are 120 million households in America. 80% of the nickels survived, that's 8 nickels per household.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Math is fun.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Same questions you asked me before. Do you understand the difference between speculation and collecting?
How can you not understand that the 1950-D nickel's price bubble was almost entirely the result of speculation? Are you capable of understanding that?
Speculation isn’t collecting. That’s why the bubble burst and the price is still lower 60+ years later, as speculators derive no utility from coins as collectables. No, you can’t unilaterally change word definitions and then impose it on anyone else as you’ve previously insisted on doing. Previously, you've intentionally misused "collecting" to describe speculation while simultaneously claiming prices below your preference make some coin "not collected" or "hardly collected". It's absurd.
Most post-1965 nickels are scarcer than the '50-D and often sell for less than a dime. How can you be so sure that these far scarcer coins won't start approaching the price of a '50-D TODAY. Nevermind what it was in 1964 where you still seem to live.
I've never claimed what you wrote here. You're shifting the goal posts, again. I've never claimed that the price of any US modern can't sell for the immaterial prices of the 1950-D nickel now or recently.
No, you've been implying that it's feasible for any number of US moderns to sell for equivalent inflation adjusted prices to the 1950-D nickel's 60's peak price. That's presumably the source of your outrageously inflated price claims in that one "raw moderns" post which are a complete fantasy.
As for 1964, you're the one who has been writing in this context. Writing about an imaginary coin market which doesn't even exist.
@cladking said:
You mean like those fantasy prices in your one "raw moderns" post?
I've done alright with Jefferson nickels, going on 36 years. Bought a house with one nickel and a car with another. I think I have made close to 6 figures over the years. Far more than what I have $ in them. I've worked everything from a monthly coin list mailer to a website, it really depends on the quality of coin that's collected. I don't have nor deal with mediocre coins, coins with weak strikes, lack luster, all marked up. Many of my coins including the war nickels are PL or semi-PL, a very rare quality for any coin/series. I've lost track on how many war nicks I have left in mint state, 70 to 80. Have sold a handful for thousands of dollars and quite a few others at lower costs over the years. The series has been quite good to me. No complaints whatsoever. My apologies if I have taken this topic off course. Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
My Jefferson Nickel Collection
Utterly ridiculous.
My post didn't have anything to do with what you wrote. I'd never post anything so ignorant as you're using in your rebuttal.
I never claimed a coin like the 1885 in gem or UNC is a low preference coin. It's a series key date. It's also not cheap by hardly any collector's standards, meaning I'd never claim it's a low preference coin. Same thing for the 16/16 Buffalo nickel.
Furthermore, my claim of "low preference" has nothing to do with the metal content, so you're wrong again there too.
Go back and try again.
There is no "mean" to return to. This is another claim you've entirely fabricated.
Yes, I'd guess 1976-D nickels or any other random date you decide to bring up may sell for similar prices generically as 1950-D nickels, but it's far more likely to be either when the latter loses value or its current USD price loses much of its current purchasing power.
The relative price of this coinage isn't due to the scarcity. Most price differences aren't due to the scarcity. It's (a lot) more than that.
This is the problem in a nutshell. You're assuming my meaning while imposing your standards and definitions on me and the entire hobby.
The '76 has already increased in price several fold and is STILL only 10% of the price of the far more common '50-D. And the '50-D is only 5% of its price in inflation adjusted dollars.
Who are you to say that the price of the '50-D today is "immaterial"? I suppose this means the scarcer '76 coin will have to increase another ten fold just to be "immaterial".
You've obviously never bought penny stocks!
You've obviously never collected 1976 nickels. Forgive us immaterial collectors.
Well, that's exactly my point. War nickels are much more than dirty ugly coins hated by the hobby and Jefferson nickels are each and all quite material. They aren't @WCC 's cup of tea but I like 'em and I stashed away a lot more nice 1976's than '50-D's. I've got lots of key dates that most collectors don't even know are key dates because they think the series ended in 1964 or they can't imagine that war nickels might be a growing market. Sure you can get VF 1941 nickels by the bucket but where are you going to get the '42-D in VF or the '82-P in MS-65?
Many collectors have a frame of reference fixed in 1964. It would never occur to them that there are far more 1947 nickels in circulation than there are 1971 and the '47's are in far higher grade. Nobody wants the few surviving 1971's but younger collectors don't have a 1964 frame of reference so they are starting to look.
My biggest profit was on a nickel as well. It was a Gem '70-S FS coin that brought well over a thousand but probably cost me less than a dime. Not a bad percentage profit.
Now I'll be lectured about how it's a one way market and it's stupid to buy moderns.
So what is it then?
How many Gem '76 FS coins are in your collection. You know there are far far fewer of these than 1886 nickels don't you?
Twenty years ago you could find them but it gets tougher and tougher. Meanwhile there are nearly the same number of 1886's as there were twenty years ago.
Did someone say they all still existed? That's a pretty silly claim.
If 160% survived that would be less absurd and every one would have 16 nickels.
On a related subject .35% of their weight is 1.75 g and buyers pay 1.75 times face value.
Math is a hoot when used properly. The rest of the time it's just quantified logic applied to baseless abstraction.
We know you prefer to make up facts
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I think some have way too much free time and/or are bored.
These are the people who are hoarding war nickels.
I have no doubt that collecting, hoarding, and dealing in morgan dollars or bust halves is just fine in your book but 35%, moderns, and BU rolls are all taboo.
I like war nickels and think nice ones are unappreciated.
@cladking Please change the title of this thread to Many, Many more thoughts on War Nickels. 😂
In the last sixteen days I acquired 212 lbs. of war nickels.
What are we gonna hoard next?
Tell me more about this, please.
You don't know what you're talikng about.
Not for talking Barbie
I don't know much about these but google's search engine found this from Mystic Stamp;
_"Silver tax stamps were authorized by Congress on June 19, 1934, pursuant to the Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
"As a measure to stabilize the US economy and to prevent runs on banks, in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the Gold Standard was abolished in 1933, and all gold bullion and gold coins in private hands were recalled. The government then feared that people would start hoarding silver bullion, causing further runs on US banks.
In order to curb the hoarding of silver bullion, the Silver Purchase Act of 1934 established the Silver Standard, called for the government to establish silver reserves to backup the silver certificate banknotes in circulation, and called for the cessation of the minting of silver dollar coins. The act also imposed a 50% tax on the profit realized on any transfer of silver bullion occurring after May 15, 1934 and provided for the use of silver tax stamps.
The new silver tax stamps were attached to transfer memorandums, indicating the payment of the federal silver tax. From 1934 to 1940, documentary revenue stamps were overprinted "SILVER TAX". New silver tax stamps were first produced in 1941."_
https://www.mysticstamp.com/rg41-1940-5c-silver-tax-rose-pink-overprint-1940/#:~:text=Act of 1934.-,As a measure to stabilize the US economy and to,Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
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It added this;
The "Series 1940" 5-cent silver tax stamp was part of a series of documentary revenue stamps issued to track and tax the transfer of silver bullion following the Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
Key details regarding the 1940 5c Silver Tax stamp:
Overprint: The stamp was produced by overprinting "1940" on existing documentary revenue stamps.
Color: The 1940 5-cent issue was in a rose-pink color.
Purpose: These stamps were used to pay a 50% tax on the profit from transfers of silver bullion, mandated to curb hoarding and support the Silver Standard established in 1934.
Context: They are classified as "Back of Book" (BOB) revenue stamps and were often attached to transfer memorandums, frequently featuring manuscript or pen cancellations.
+2
These are often categorized in philatelic catalogs under the "Silver Tax" (RG) section, with the 1940 5-cent stamp being a specific example of this, distinct from general 5-cent documentary stamps of that era, such as the 1940 Carmine red documentary stamp.
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Some of these may well have been used to transfer bullion to make war nickels.
Google's AI has improved a lot and is a great search engine. Most AI's don't "like" being used for such a purpose.
That's a lot of war nickels.
It includes about 150 nice '44-S's in good and better. Perhaps one 45 DDR. 1 henning nickel, "4" low grade '43/2's, and a couple dozen nice AU- and better '44-D's.
I wouldn't necessarily suggest you search them. It's a lot of dirty work and there might be little reward. But If you can sit on these until the backlog at the refineries are gone you should do quite well. I'm thinking you can trade unpicked over bags at a significant (albeit small) premium top melt which might be far higher. Almost all bulk war nickels trade at between 50 and 95% of melt so there's a lot of potential if you might be able to get 120% of melt from collectors in 5 or 10 years.
Most accumulations of these will run about 12% keepers but it's highly variable dependent on who assembled them and when.
Thank you.
That’s the boiling point. I mocked our hoarding tendencies. However, this thread did prompt me to fill gaps, so I I het up the market a tad for a couple of days. The butterfly sneezed.
Well, CK guaranteed you atleast one Henning nickel in that hoard. They sell for around $300, so that plus the other promised varieties and high grade circulated coins should make it worthwhile to sort through them.
ROFL.
But to have an effect this quickly would require a nuclear powered butterfly.
Are you sure it was merely 10,000 coins?
It's a lot of work and the hennings are not easy to sell TMK.
I enjoy separating the wheat from the chaffe in nice clean moderns are dirty war nickels. Either way you have to wash your hands because raw moderns leave metal dust on you. I guess I work in the ditches of coin collecting to retrieve what should never have collected there.
To each his own. TEHO!
Hennings should be the easiest thing to identify in that pile. The color would likely be different but even more obvious is the missing giant mintmark above Monticello.
No, I picked a half dozen. No Hennings. But so did a half dozen other folks because of this thread. We’re insecure, driven by fomo, lead by your avuncular charisma. I have the clad, 212 is symbolic. Let’s move on to another hobby horse.
See? you’re making me want a Hennings.