I wouldn't exactly call it a black beauty its in pretty nice condition for its age and those steps are good
Just looks toned to me . What I can't get over is why the Monticello is so mushy ( if that's a word ) and lacking in detail. Ayways, the Black Beauty is mostly 1958 and possibly 1959 according to past posts .
thanks, I see the luster in the coin so I not sure if it's toning or if it's an annealing error? thanks for info
The coin appears to be an SMS. With this being said the strike of the steps shouldn’t matter as they should be struck full and therefore are not designated by the TPG. The Monticello also looks very well struck. @SensibleSal66 if you want to see some mushy details look at several business strike 1967 and you will see this clearly. Coin looks like it has just toned a bit. The blues are nice. Most BB will almost look like environmental damage.
Your nickel is pretty dark, and has the right characteristics of being in the annealing oven too long. I am on the fence, but leaning towards Black Beauty.
I say Improperly Annealed Planchet. Nice. Good candidate for a "Black Beauty" Some examples from my collection
I've read that "Black Beauty" is usually reserved for the 1958 and 1959 darkened Jeffersons from the Philadelphia mint. Fred Weinburg said the PCGS labels them as Mis-annealed planchets. I don't know if it is exclusively for 58s and 59s. I did find pics on https://forums.collectors.com/ of a 55 Jeff that someone claimed was a Black Beauty.
Good eye. Not my flip, though. I crimp mine. I understand coins world over can suffer dark toning from environmental damage (like the ones you find while detecting). Do you know if there are any of the same type of planchet annealing issues on the Black Beauty Jeffs listed as errors on other US denominations?
I'm not really a big nickel collector so I don't know Black Beauties. But I think your coin is a Beauty for sure. Very nice look to this coin!
Improperly annealed planchet can happen on any denomination, Nickels, dime, quarters, half's. Although "Black Beauty" is reserved for the 58 and 59's, because of how many were released. Improperly annealed can happen to any year.
Yes, I agree/thought the same...an SMS...was going to post but saw yours...also same on "Monticello" (word) looking strong.
You have a dark but attractively toned SMS Jefferson. As @kSigSteve said, most black beauties look like environmental damage.