I found a 1968, 1969, and a 1970 s Nickel from the same coin roll !! Had to have been a collector I would think. Very nice when that happens !
There were no Philadelphia nickels minted in 1968, 1969, or 1970. I grew up in the east and when I was a kid in the 70’s, finding anything with an S mm in change was a big deal (it still is ). Most S mintmarks I found were on those nickels. BTW: I still have a roll of 68-S cents my Uncle gave me almost 50 years ago. Wow, a whole roll of S mint cents. I thought I hit the jackpot. (They still have a special place in my collection)
Ahhhh! San Francisco Mintmarks... in pocket change!! I grew in CT (Connecticut, people, not Coin Talk!) and loved finding S mintmarks in the late 70's when I started collecting. The was an old Woolworth's in town, then rebranded as "Wolco's" and on its last legs. In the months before the store closed someone set up a little revolving jewelry case selling...COINS!! The first coins I ever purchased, while my age was still in the single digits, were a 1968-S and a 1969-S Lincoln Cent, both in the shiniest ("shinniest" as we say at CT (Coin Talk, not Connecticut!)) of BU. They cost me 35 and 25 cents respectively. I gazed at those beautifully stuck S's for minutes on end, belching out a guttural "My Precious..." now and then. That was the first time as I kid I noticed that the '68 was super bulgy (my word for it) and the '69 was weirdly flat in comparison. I took them to Mr. Max Kaye, my LCS owner in Springfield, MA, who told me all about dies and hubs as my clothes soaked up the cloud of cigarette smoke that always filled his shop and sometimes blocked a clear view of the ceiling. Decades later in my 50's I have sometimes been known to buy BU rolls of both coins, just to rip open the paper and watch the s-bedecked jewels spill out.
I knew what you meant - both times. Still fun finding S mint coins in CT, nickels seemingly the easiest.
Wow! Well that is something we share in common ( Besides coins!) Oldhoopster! I was born in Brooklyn New York!! Have to say you have one really cool Uncle !! And how about you! You still have that roll after 50 years! That says something very positive about you as well...
S minted nickels for these dates are common. They were made in similar numbers to the Denver minted ones (with 1968 actually having a higher mintage at the SF mint). No Philly coins were minted any of these years as part of a misguided attempt by the mint to reduce coin collecting, which they mistakenly believed was responsible for coin shortages in the early 60s.
68s were struck well. Also we’re shiny fields. They look great. Glad for you. My ma left us with a full roll of 74s cents. I think