Hi, I found this 2005-D Jefferson Nickel with an apparent missing c in the word Ocean. Is this a known variety? Thanks.
There is a difference between a variety and an error. As a rule, a die that has been (unintentionally) altered in some way so that all of the coins produced have the same feature is considered a variety. There are many causes for Mint errors such as a grease-filled die, off-center strike, planchet defect, strikethrough, etc., but these generally will not affect an entire production run. Chris
That picture is all we need to determine it's a grease filled die. Nuff said, no reason to make the person get a better picture so we can tell them the same thing. It's worth 25 cents, spend it.
I agree with everything you said, rodeo, except the value. It's a nickel, not a quarter. It's value is 5¢ not 25¢
Hello That would make it certainly easier to see and allow for a more critical analysis of the coin other than a declaration of its lack of value. Amanda
Amanda, the analysis is not too difficult to make. The coin was struck with a grease filled die. They are quite common and usually carry no premium at all. In fact, many collectors shy away from them because of the incomplete design elements. Were they in any way rare, they might command a premium and in that some attention, but that simply isn't the case. If you wish to learn more about grease filled die strikes, there are several threads here in the archives to read.
Thanks for all the replies. For what it's worth, here's a close-up (this time using a camera instead of a scanner).
Excellent shot! As you can see, the C was on the die so that it is very likely to be a greese filled die, which happens from time to time. Its an error, but I'm not sure of the value. But the fun part is in the details and I think Hobo is the best expert on this on the forum and I hope he'll jump it. the interesting this is that the O also seems to have been affected. Nice find!
The "O" doesn't appear to be affected. It is just a circulated coin with a couple of gouges across the lower, right quadrant of the "O". Chris
thats the macro - excellent. I hope you post more such coins in the future. Your a natural shot with the com era.
First, if it was due to a partially grease-filled in the recesses of the "O", it should extend across the width of the letter, not just along the edge. It would be packed into the lowest depths, first, from continual strikes. There is no way the grease can accumulate on the upper inside of an incuse device. Circulation can do lots of wierd things to coins. We've even had some people come here swearing that it looked like Jesus was on their coin. Besides the two gouges on the lower right quadrant, their are a couple more dings a little higher up. Chris
But then he wouldn't have learned to take a great coin picture AND we wouldn't have learned this And since this is COINTALK, not APRAISEYOURCOIN.com, then that is all good.