Is there a story behind the 1950-D Nickel?

LickThoseStamps · July 9, 2005 2:36AM

Years ago, my father collected a set of Jefferson nickels from circulation. By the mid-1960s, he had all of them with the exception of the 1950-D. At that time he offered a $5.00 bounty if I were to find one for him. For years, I carefully checked each of the coins I received from my paper routes. I would also go to the bank and get rolls to search through. I was never successful.

Recently, I purchased several complete Jefferson nickel collections through 1962, on eBay, from different sellers. Each one contained circulated nickels as advertised, with the exception of the 1950-D. In most cases, the 1950-D was mint state. This suggests that others also had a difficult time locating the 1950-D in circulated condition.

I have heard that the 1950-D was hoarded, but I don’t see any particular reason it should have been. The Denver mint produced nickels before and after 1950. After 55 years, the coin in mint state is quite common, even though the mintage is the lowest of the series. If I recall, the price of a BU specimen in 1966 was $30.00. Today, it can be easily obtained for less than $10.00.

Does anyone know the story behind the hoarding of the 1950-D nickel? Was there some rumor or event that triggered the hoarding?

Regardless of the answers to these questions, I think the long term effects of hoarding are well demonstrated by this nickel. I chuckle when I see the threads from people buying as many coins as they can from the mint, before the hoarders get to them.

lathmach · July 9, 2005 3:06AM

If my memory is correct, it was someone in Wisconsin that horded these in huge quantities, by the bags.
I only found one in change myself, and I've collected coins since 1957. The one I got was from a coke nachine at Fort Gordon Georgia in 1964.
I have around a roll or so, and as you say about them being mint state, most of mine are.
This is a coin where the price has really crashed. They sold for around $25 40 years ago..

Ray

Jody526 · July 9, 2005 3:28AM

When the mintage numbers for 1950 nickels were made public by the Denver Mint, dealers and speculators grabbed up every one they could find.

Today a circulated 1950-D nickel would have to be considered a "condition rareity". LOL

BillJones · July 9, 2005 3:39AM

According to Dave Bowers' book on numismatic hoards, there were a couple of dealers who got their hands on something like 100,000, 1950-D nickels through their local banks in the early 1950s. They were very careful in their distribution of coins, which allowed the price to stay high through out the 1960s. One of these dealers claimed that he built a house from the profits that he made from his 1950-D nickel caper.

It makes for interesting reading, but woe to those who paid as much as $35.00 for these coins in the mid 1960s. I almost became one of them when I was a YN.

Barry · July 9, 2005 3:44AM

Moral of the story: Don't pay too much for a coin known to be hoarded and hyped.

One example today is the 1844 dime. Someone in CA has about 600 of them. He tried to sell the hoard a few years ago without success. Hopefully, he loses his shirt when he finally does sell, for trying to manipulate the market.

Anyone know of other currently overpriced, hoarded coins?

BillJones · July 9, 2005 3:56AM

The trouble is no one knew about the hoard of the 1950-D nickels in the 1950s and '60s.

One does need to look at mintages and analyze the situation. With the 1950-D nickel the mintage was 2.5 million, and given the recent nature of the issue, a lot of those coins still had to be in existence. Although 2.5 million might seem like a small mintage for a business strike coin, that’s still a lot of pieces, given the survival rates, once the prices reach a certain level.

Back in1965 $35.00 was a lot of money for a coin to many people. Today several hundred dollars will chase away a lot of buyers for relatively high mintage coins. My point is that coins like the 1999 silver Proof set could be our generation’s ’50-D nickel. It’s OK as a collector to buy one for a date run of Proof sets, but putting them away in quantity at over $300 a pop, might not be good for your financial health.

Elcontador · July 9, 2005 4:07AM

I found a 32 S quarter in change in 1963 as a kid and began collecting coins at that time. In the 1960s, people were big on filling Dansco albums and collecting relatively recent coins whose overall mintages were relatively scarce compared to similar dates. To this end, the most popular coins were the 50D nickel, the 55S cent, and to a lesser extent, the 1955 P, D & S dimes.

The 55S cent was selling for a huge premium over what they are selling for now. I think I paid $22.50 for a FS 50D nickel which is probably an MS 65, and $20 for a circ. roll of 55S cents at that time. To put things in perspective, back then I paid $35 for a 36 S Walker that now resides in a PC 6 holder.

BillJones · July 9, 2005 4:18AM

The retail price of a "BU" 1955-S cent was $1.75 in the mid 1960s. In today's dollars that's something like 8 or 9 dollars Today the wholesale price on the coin is $17 a roll or 34 cents apiece. If you chaged a buck for the coin it would be justified because of the handling costs, but you can see that a 1955-S cent back then was a pretty bad investment.

291fifth · July 9, 2005 4:27AM

I collected the series from circulation in 1962-3 and never found a 50-D. The coin was hoarded in huge numbers and is rarely seen in grades less than Unc.

BillJones · July 9, 2005 4:29AM

<< I collected the series from circulation in 1962-3 and never found a 50-D. The coin was hoarded in huge numbers and is rarely seen in grades less than Unc. >>

And I might add that for some reason the few circulated pieces were real dogs. They were usually pretty unattractive, there was not much of price break, even though they had wear.

Deadhorse · July 9, 2005 5:38AM

I sure remember the 55-S Lincoln from those days. I can remember seeing unc rolls at small shows with a $75.00 price tag in the early sixties. It may have been one of the first coins I ever paid for as opposed to finding in change or searching bank bags. I think I paid around $2 for one marked BU in a 2X2. It's probably in my Mother's basement somewhere still.

That was an afternoon's work of mowing lawns at fifty cents each.

spy88 · July 9, 2005 5:41AM

Back when I was actively going thru 100's of $ worth of bags and rolls from a local casino, I found virtually every date/mm, including a 39 DDR. I still have some of the ones I pulled and kept and 2 of the 50-D Jeffs where in the container.

cladking · July 9, 2005 5:50AM

Most of the '50-D nickels were hoarded in unc and this coin more than any other
led to the roll and bag boom of the early 1960's. People got the idea that the huge
numbers of new collectors would one day want to upgrade their coins to unc and
that these coins would provide good returns to investors. Others just got caught
up in it and this market grew. The '50-D was perhaps the king of the BU rolls be-
cause so many collected nickels in those days and this was the lowest mintage coin
of recent times. Of course it was also available and hence easily promotable.

Most of these coins still exist and most are still unc. This is actually more common
in unc than many of the post-1964 issues. These later coins were often saved in
rolls but the number being set aside was highly variable from year to year and some
were simply not saved in large quantities. Those that weren't saved are generally
available in mint sets.

There are very large numbers of the earlier Jefferson collections compared to the
total of the complete collections and the later collections.

keets · July 9, 2005 5:53AM

while the 1950-D Jefferson might have been bulk hoarded by a couple of speculators, it was bulk hoarded by the hobby in general. part of the reason for the apparent shortage is that the general public never knows anything about mintage figures, so the coins were quite likely introduced to circulation before the hobby understood the low numbers; remember, coins are struck to maintain commerce.

the hype surrounding this date continues to the present day. it's constantly touted as a "key" and is anything but. it's lesser saved and more valuable high grade cousin, the 1950 Philadelphia issue, would be a better choice for a Type coin.

PerryHall · July 9, 2005 6:01AM

Be careful with 1950-D nickels. I've read in several publications that someone made a set of dies and struck many fakes. Also, quite a few 1959-D nickels had the tail of the second 9 removed to create a 1950 date. Not a very convincing fake but I'm sure it fooled some inexperienced new collectors.

streeter · July 9, 2005 6:49AM

I'm flattered...Keets stole my avatar

Thank the lucky stars you lost that friggin paper bag you were using.

Keets, shouldn't you drop me a line first? It's ok, I stole it fair and square first but Geez...not from smoeone on this board.

If you really feel you must use it, I require a wooden nickel. I shall wait at the mailbox.

I do not give you permission to my sig line. Sorry.

Bochiman · July 9, 2005 7:47AM

CoinOnTheCob · July 9, 2005 8:02AM

<< Today a circulated 1950-D nickel would have to be considered a "condition rareity". LOL >>

Pretty soon we’ll see debates in this forum as to whether or not an eBay auction peddling a circulated 1950-D nickel is “artificially worn.”
COTC

ziggy29 · July 9, 2005 8:53AM

<< It makes for interesting reading, but woe to those who paid as much as $35.00 for these coins in the mid 1960s. I almost became one of them when I was a YN. >>

They fared better than the folks who bought mint state 1903-O Morgans in the late 1950s and early 1960s, just before a large number of '03-O bags were found in Treasury vaults...

Gemini · July 9, 2005 10:36AM

Before the internet many coin shops had implemented sort of a ticker tape machine which gave an up to the minute blow by blow on the coin market. It was fun back then with this new device as you entered your local coin shop and listened to the endless robotic pumping and typing cacophany that this machine produced. Coin pluses and minuses were now known by the minute instead of waiting a week to see what was going on price wise in your coin paper or gray sheet. This machine helped fuel the fever pitch of speculation that was on rolls and proof set trading back then. Prices were constantly fluctuating with some going up and up daily. Such was the case with the 50-D nickel. I was cash poor youngster at the time or I would have jumped in whole hog myself. My friends and I felt we were witnessing the pulse of action like traders on Wall Street and some of us hung around after school and discussed the boom in prices daily. It was really a magic time for coins and one that I now look back on fondly. I had never heard about boom and bust except from tales of the great depression that my father related to me while growing up. Man this was so different. We are in the new coin age and coins are really hot and moving. This speculation went on for quite a time. Prices were going through the roof and we all lacked the 50-D in our blue Whitmans. We thought the price would climb indefinately. Surprise the bubble did burst and coin prices came down to saner levels or lower. Since that time I have learned that nothing that is mass produced is ever rare when so much is being held and can always be found or had sooner or later.
Getting back to the 50-D... well I never did find a 50-D nickel until some twenty years later. I since have found two. One is an XF and one nearly uncirculated. Funny that a coin I held in such high regard as being forever rare and the thought of ever finding one in circulation to be an impossibility.

rmoss · July 9, 2005 4:52PM

<< Be careful with 1950-D nickels. I've read in several publications that someone made a set of dies and struck many fakes. Also, quite a few 1959-D nickels had the tail of the second 9 removed to create a 1950 date. Not a very convincing fake but I'm sure it fooled some inexperienced new collectors. >>

If my memory serves me correctly, back in the early 70's I remember reading an article (in Coins Magazine maybe) about large quantities, two 55 gallon drums, of 50-D nickels being intercepted on a boat entering the country. The price had gone up so much that it was feasible to counterfeit them. I think they were coming from Japan. The nickels were checked by the mint, and even they could not tell if they were fake. The metal was the same and they were exact copies so the mint let them go. I also remember in the same article that more 1950-D nickels can be accounted for than were made. Please don't laugh, it's 3 AM on Sunday morning and I'm at work.

majorbigtime · July 10, 2005 1:41AM

the '50-D Nick and '03-O Dollar are less in redbook than 40 years ago!

The '03-O is easy to understand (large quantities released from Treasury vaults), the '50-d is not.

LickThoseStamps · July 10, 2005 2:52AM

Thanks everyone for your responses!

BillJones – I too was tempted to buy one in the mid-60s. Luckily the cost was about a month’s earnings from my paper route, which proved to be a successful deterrent!

Barry – How did the guy with the 600 1844 dimes acquire them? Was he specializing in this issue or intentionally trying to manipulate the market?

Spy88 – those nickels must not have made too many trips through the slots. I don’t see any on the circular marks indicative of slot damage. Nice coins. I always check the slot bins for black (war) nickels, since they are easily identified. I should have been looking for the better dates as well!

Perryhall – Do you recall how long ago those articles were published? Where do they believe the fakes originated?

Keets – good points. I note that the population of PCGS graded 50-Ds are nearly 7x the number of 50-P. Is this ratio a true indication of the surviving populations, or is it an artifact of the cost of slabbing to coin value ratio?

Gemini – I do remember those ticker-tape machines. It is interesting that you have found two in circulation years later. I performed an internet search and found two similar stories of finds in the last several years. In fact, I would not be surprised if entire Jefferson collections are not being returned to circulation, since I can’t imagine a dealer offering much over face value to someone walking into a shop.

Rmoss – is this perhaps related to the comments from Perryhall? Does anyone else recall this story?

Does anyone have a picture of a well worn 50-D to post?

rmoss · July 10, 2005 11:39AM

<< Thanks everyone for your responses!

Perryhall – Do you recall how long ago those articles were published? Where do they believe the fakes originated?

Rmoss – is this perhaps related to the comments from Perryhall? Does anyone else recall this story? >>

I was reading the responses and seeing Perry Hall's statement about the counterfeit dies I remembered having had read a story about the counterfeits. Sorry I can't be more exact but the story was 30 years or better ago.
Ron

jdimmick · July 10, 2005 12:18PM

Last year at one of the major ANA shows, possibly Pittsburg. A dealer from Alabama (Alabama coin & stamp I beleive) had a 50-d altered from a 59-d Holdered by one of the major tpg's on display>

cladking · July 10, 2005 12:19PM

<< 

I was reading the responses and seeing Perry Hall's statement about the counterfeit dies I remembered having had read a story about the counterfeits. Sorry I can't be more exact but the story was 30 years or better ago.
Ron >>

I have to believe you have the story wrong. There definitely are counterfeit '50-D
nickels but they aren't common and aren't especially deceptive (at least the one I
saw wasn't). I've seen a lot of nickel collections.

It should also be pointed out the this coin has been going up in the last years after
decades of eroding prices. There are probably around a couple million of these so
an increase might say something about the number of people who have started this
set recently. New highs should not be expected in the near future.

rmoss · July 10, 2005 1:48PM

<< 

<< 

I was reading the responses and seeing Perry Hall's statement about the counterfeit dies I remembered having had read a story about the counterfeits. Sorry I can't be more exact but the story was 30 years or better ago.
Ron >>

I have to believe you have the story wrong. There definitely are counterfeit '50-D
nickels but they aren't common and aren't especially deceptive (at least the one I
saw wasn't). I've seen a lot of nickel collections.

It should also be pointed out the this coin has been going up in the last years after
decades of eroding prices. There are probably around a couple million of these so
an increase might say something about the number of people who have started this
set recently. New highs should not be expected in the near future. >>

Sam,
Not trying to mislead anyone. I kind of hoped someone else would also remember this rumor from back then. Like I said earlier, this was recounted from memory and as we age our memories are not as sharp as they used to be. I was just adding to the conversation something I thought might have been of interest to the group.

LickThoseStamps · July 10, 2005 2:32PM

Has anyone here found a 50-D nickel in circulation recently?

Conder101 · July 10, 2005 6:04PM

There are counterfeit die struck 50-D nickels. They came out of the Dallas TX area back in the 1960's. The dies were made by the using genuine coins as a hub. The resulting dies and counterfeits are weaker and they have a "mushy" appearance. They were also described as having a steel gray color to them.

jtwax · July 19, 2005 5:16PM

A little more info...

And a little on counterfeits...

cladking · July 20, 2005 12:35AM

Dull luster; Obverse has a small vertical die gouge off the leg of the R in TRUST moving north; Reverse has a worm shaped die chip inside the rim between the last A in AMERICA and the Monticello building.

I tried to repair the link but it didn't take. The above is from the second link.

dbldie55 · July 20, 2005 1:19AM

I found one in circulation in 1994.

streeter · July 20, 2005 3:39AM

I began looking through change in 1961 and have never found a circulated 50-D. In fact these days ...there are not a whole lot of circulated '47-'52 jeffersons floating around in change.

leothelyon · July 20, 2005 1:25PM

<< Keets – good points. I note that the population of PCGS graded 50-Ds are nearly 7x the number of 50-P. Is this ratio a true indication of the surviving populations, or is it an artifact of the cost of slabbing to coin value ratio? >>

Interestingly enough, if you take note in the strikes of the 1950-P and the 1950-D, the 50-D is far rarer fully struck than the 50-P and a fair number of other Jefferson dates. Due to the average soft strike of the 1950-D, the highest attainable grade is MS65! I have yet to see a fully struck 1950-D. I've created a blog of pictures for the 1950-P and 1950-D. Be sure to click on the small square in the lower right side to see my notes and hit the start button to get the pictures rolling.
Jefferson nickels!

Leo

Eastside · July 20, 2005 8:26PM

Collecting Jeffersons since Summer of 70, have recieved including
*"ROLL CALL" every year/date to 1980 from circulation, EXCEPT the
1939 D, 1950 D, 1950 P. funny thing about the 1950 P, I bought a partial circ. roll set a decade ago that so happened to have a full roll
of circ 1950 P's among it and noticed to my conclusion that searching for the 50 D was serious work as about 1/3 of the 50 P's haxe X's, B's and other disfiguring marks scratched or cut into the obverse thereby "MARKING" the NON=D east coast version. Anybody have a disfigured circ 50 P.

*ROLL CALL is buying bank rolls and searching and trading them in for more to search.

Eastside

leothelyon · July 26, 2005 9:52AM

Visited my local coin store today and notice that this dealer has a worn VG 50-D in his counter 2x2 coin catalog.
He has $15 listed on the coin while the BU 50-D's are listed at $20.

Leo

Is there a story behind the 1950-D Nickel?

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The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!

My Jefferson Nickel Collection

The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!

My Jefferson Nickel Collection

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