Hello, i work and live in Kirkland Washington fervor 20 years,if you get a chance go to that little coin shop in Kirkland the owner occasionally comes across some real good coins and he's a real nice guy. And I had a bank teller in Woodinville that would put coins aside for me, get to know your bank teller they are a real good source for coins even though they may not collect themselves.
paddy hello. You know as well as I do, you can send your coin to five different slab companies and you will get back five different grades, it's proven people see different things. Even though I basically could say I live right down the street form some of these grading companies, I am definitely not a fan of slab coins. Example while working out at Dade county rifle range, one of my regular shooters is a Dade county detective. He informed me that he interviews witnesses all the time, and they all see something different than the other witnesses.
girldly Find a local pawn shop or bullion dealer that has a XRF analyzer and take it to them to test the coin in question. It will give you a detailed report of the exact composition of the coin. Personally I can't see it being nickel but hey maybe pigs have learned to fly.
You had the coin subjected to XRF to determine composition so you're sure it's nickel and not just a school plating project (they're pretty common)? What's the weight?
I wonder if any grading companies are able to analyze coins with x-ray spectrometers that can determine alloy types without marring surfaces.