1953 canada five cents-near or far leaf?

How do you distinguish between the near and far leaf on a 1953 Canadian nickel?
Thanks-Ed

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Krause gives no explanation for either the near/far leaf or the with/without strap variations on that coin. As it was the first Elizabeth II nickle, maybe the mint was experimenting with effigies.

 

It is the stap variety,which is a an issue with early 50s canadain,,,ie strap and no strap but darned if I can figure out the leaf part--and it makes a BIG difference if you checked krrause. On a lighter note, just pulled an xf to au 1940 Australin Shilling from this batch I received today, I am having excellent luck with the auctions lately
Ed

 

The easiest way to tell the difference between the '53 far and near leaf varieties is to have both to compare! In the near leaf variety the first maple leaf to the left side of "5 CENTS" on the reverse is closer to the rim denticles then the far leaf. Charlton's has a picture showing the difference between the 2.

 

Here is an ended ebay auction. The seller included a scan of the page in the Charlton's Catalogue that illustrates the difference. Hope it helps you distinguish the difference. Hope you have that far leaf- 'shoulder fold' or 'strap' variety

http://cgi.ebay.ca/1953-CANADA-NICK...QitemZ8379046801QQcategoryZ3387QQcmdZViewItem

...just to add for anyone interested: easiest way to tell between the shoulder fold (SF) and no shoulder fold (NSF) varieties is the "I" in "DEI" in obverse. Flared out "I" is the NSF. Picture of this also included in that scan in the auction.

 

Scan

An image

 

Nickels aren't really my thing but referencing the Bible of Canadian coinage definitely looks like a far to me. Maybe some experts can ring in on this also. Very nice find. It would be interesting to get a census of the grade from members here...not sure, what I am assuming is corrosion, does to the value though.

***edit**
at the very least this is a great coin to give you the excuse to go and get the other 3 varieties..plus having all of them in hand makes it a lot easier to distinguish them and keep your collection organized

 

Well,if it is a far krause has it at $300 for vf-20 and I am good with that LOL

 

Obverse

grade away

 

Agreed!

but, yes these can be somewhat tricky to attribute...aren't they?? Its a great find (if it is far leaf...which I'm pretty sure it is). Canadian nickels seem to be hot right now too from what I see at shows. Plus they seem to be somewhat of a challenge to get in higher grades (65++)....maybe why collectors like searching them. So I would say it's definitely a nice find.

 

I find that I have such a hard time grading from pictures (this is no exception either). But I would say F plus to VF seems about right. Its difficult to tell if there is good and sharp detail still present in the hair and how distinct the leaves in the laureate crown are from Liz's hair. Reverse doesn't say anythingl differently.

Canadian standards on Elizabeth II Young Head effigy from older Charlton's:
F12 - Leaves are worn almost through; SF fold indistinct
VF20 - leaves are consideraly worn; SF clear
EF40 - Laurel leaves on band are somewhat worn
AU50 - Traces of wear on hair; degree of mint lustre still present
...obviously SF comments won't apply to your coin

 

It looks to me like a no shouder fold far leaf which unfortunately makes it a rather common variety.Rarity of the near and far leaf are reversed depending on the shoulder fold so it's the near leaf which is worth the big bucks with the NSF variety.
I don't know if I'm making any sense so here are CCN trends values for F-12 which is how I would grade this coin.

NSF far leaf .25
NSF near leaf 750.00
SF near leaf .25
SF far leaf 325.00

I hope this helps.

Bill

 

Yes it is a NSF...I was originally assuming it was SF before tazman posted a pic of obverse. Should of been able to pick up on that afterwards...good pickup on that! bromac crashes your hopes on this one:goofer: ...just kidding

 

strap

Here is a better shoulder image, I see the strap with the naked eye but the scans dont show as well

 

I find that the fold is almost impossible to see in a circulated coin. The best way to tell, as was mentioned in an earlier post,is by the shape of the letter "I" in the word "DEI".A flared "I" means no fold the straight "I" means there is a fold.The "I" in your scan is definitely flared.

Bill

 

Wow

Thanks, I am not too up on Canadian coins,glad you guys are though LOL
Ed

 

I also mentioned earlier the Aussie 1940 Shilling-I will have somes scans in a few for your opinions on grade. I put it somewhere in the xf range,but I am an optimist
Ed

 

The Near & far varieties are better known on the 1926 Canadian nickel 5c. coin,not the 1953.The 1953 is famous for the 'No Shoulder Strap' & 'With Shoulder Strap' varieties like the rest of the coins up to the silver $1.

Aidan.

 

The near and far varieties in the 1926 refer to the distance of the #6 from the maple leaf.With the 1953 it's the distance of the maple leaf on the reverse from the rim. In the case of the 1¢ coin there are SF and NSF in 54 and 55 as well.

Bill

 

Ok the 1926 5 cent is nothing like the 1953. Sadly I have the same problem as the original poster. I scoured the net to find a picture of near vs. far leaf for the 1953. I have to admit the strap part is easy. So lets see what you guys think?