I have been busy filling in the empty slots in my Whitman Jefferson Nickels No. 1, 1938-1961. I purchased some missing nickels and one in particular looks odd. It is the 1959. See if you can pick out the one about which I am talking. Any ideas why this coin would be this color? why one of these things is not like the rest. in the picture are nickels 1958, 1957, 1959, 1965 and 1968
Looks like a nickel once buried in the ground or environmental damage or exposed to a chemical and the elements reacted. I find older nickels that look like this metal detecting.
Correct to Environmental Damage I also metal detect and I have found dozens of nickels such as yours. Same thing happens to Quarters
Interesting. The poor little guy is 58 years old, there is no telling where it has been. Would you try and "clean" it or just leave it alone?
Ha, yes. You are correct. Those Thomas Jefferson nickels sure went through a lot of use. They are still fun to collect, though, as you and I well know.