I know to keep the silver war nickels (42-45) and the buffalos. everytime I see someone posting nickel finds though they post how many pre '60 they found. is there a reason to hold those, other than filling a book?
Unless they are in high-grade of condition or of a relatively low mintage (say under 15-20 million), I just log the dates in my stats and reroll the pre-1960 nickels that I find. Why bother keeping common date 1940P/1958D nickels in worn condition?
I have a plastic zip-lock bag that I throw pre-60's in to, just for the heck of it. When it gets full, I will probably go through it and sort out several key dates and dump the rest. Still hard for me to give up on coins that are 50+ years old though...
I keep them when I find them in circulation because they're pretty old (in my opinion). It's just five cents, so why not?
Definately want to keep all silver nickels. You already know what.those are. Keep a 1950D nickel. Very hard to find in circulation, though you can buy one in MS-65 for like $35. Keep all V or Liberty nickels. Buffalos too, but you mentioned that. Also look for 1938 and 39 Jeffs. The d and s mm are worth more. I personally keep everything pre 55.
As other posters have mentioned, it is a no-brainer to keep war years, buffaloes, and V nickles. V's can occasionally be found as I can substantiate that. Jefferson's starting in 1960, with the exception of 2009, were minted in abundance. No need to keep them unless they display an obvious flaw. I personally like to keep nickles with mintage below 40k. Several Philadelphia in the 1950s qualify as well as San Francisco minted prior to 1960. The key dates in my opinion are 50D, 39D&S, 38D&S, 55P, 50P, and 38P.
This thread is 10 years old. I’ve been a member for 7 years and I only know one of the posters above. Best to start a new thread.
I keep pre 64's. It's getting to a point that they're getting harder to find and if someone is looking for a date to fill their book, well then you're going to be right there to help them out! Sometimes it's not about making money, it's about the interactions you have with your fellow coin people.
Most varieties out weigh the older Jefferson nickels. My recommendation is to create a list of Jefferson nickels by date/mm and condition along with a list of varieties to search for.
