Thread: 1944-S Jefferson Nickel Non-Silver

Hello, my first post.

I found an odd nickel while rolling nickels at my place of work. It
appears to be a non-silver alloy 1944-S Jefferson Nickel. It appears to be
of regular copper-nickel alloy. It is a little bit wore, most likely in good to very
good condition, but has NO tarnish that you see on wartime nickels.
For the condition it is in, its has its original luster, which is odd. I
have war time time nickels in nr mint condition that show tarnish.
Also, this nickel does not make the ting sound of a war time nickel, but
the same sound as a regular alloy nickel. It has the large letter S over
monticello. I was wondering if this could be another version of the
Henning counterfeit nickel. I know he forgot to put the P above
monticello, but ive also heard from many other people that he made nickels with
different reverses. Im about 99% sure its non silver and about 75% sure
its counterfeit. Is this a possible mint error? Striking a 44 S on copper nickel alloy or a counterfeit?

Sounds really interesting, but we'll definitely need to see a picture first.

I'll get one up soon

Henning Counterfeit maybe?

I doubt it is a Henning nickel. Those were 1944 No 'P'. (I own one of the Henning nickels. They are very well-done and very interesting.) I know he counterfeited other dates buy I have not heard of any other war dates by Henning.

I recommend you weigh your coin and compare it to the correct weight of war nickels. That should answer your question.

The weight will help alot!

Speedy

So what am I looking for opposed to 5 grams? Where is the best place to weigh these? I'll have some scans up shortly, scanner not cooperating

Just give the weight no matter what it is. If you don't have a way to get the weight yourself, try a place that sells jewley <sp?>, or such.
I really don't think a scan will help---the coin show look normal, just maybe be the wrong weight if anything. The coin could be plated, could be struck on a off metal planchet, or maybe a few other things.....of course...it could be normal too

Speedy

Here are some scans anyway. I tryed to include a real war nickel in about the same condition. And the other nickel is a 68 d i found in Excellent condtion, the edge almost cut my finger, no lie! I spent about 40 mins testing the sound of my 44-s to other war nickels and regular alloy nickels and I'd be 100% convinced it was a real war nickel if it actually sounded like one. I wish i could record the sound, it has nothing but a dull ting. Exactly the same as a 1946, 56, 68, 80 and 2000, so on. I will get it weighed soon

It looks like the coin was harshly cleaned at some point in time. But really the weight is what may tell the story.

Speedy

Unfortunately, color, ring, and weight are both unreliable diagnostics when it comes to distinguishing wartime nickels struck on Cu-Ni planchets. Color is highly variable. Ring varies in wartime nickels from a bell-like tone to a dull thud. That probably has to do with the erratic quality of the alloy, which tends to develop microscopic cracks which dampen the ring. Both planchets weigh 5 grams. A specific gravity test would help immensely, but you need a scale that's accurate to the nearest thousandth of a gram.

If i send it into the coin grading service what will they be able to tell me besides its grade? Will they be able to tell me if it is silver or not? I don't want to pay big money to get it graded if it's just a regular nickel. Where is the cheapest place to get the coin graded? I thought at first it was cleaned too, but its ring is so far off the beaten track I think I need to get it graded. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I believe both PCGS and NGC will submit the coin for SEM/X-ray analysis if you request it, but that would cost an extra $100 at least. Pretty steep if it turns out to be an ordinary nickel. I don't believe that either of them do specific gravity tests, since it takes at least 15 minutes to do it right, and they usually whip through coins as quickly as possible.