I just bought an 1883 liberty nickel. The coin is about the same color as an old tarnished penny that has been lightly rubbed. It looks like a copper nickel, the back even has a light green tinge in places. I have read that the content for the liberty nickel is 75% copper and 25% nickel. Is it possible that this coin, fior whatever reason, has a much higer copper content?
That is correct. Possible, but not likely. Nickels often develope the same tarnish as bronze coins. You have to also consider that a 183 year old coin, struck on the wrong metal/planchet, would have surely been spotted by a sharp-eyed collector/dealer by now.
I do see quite a bit of V nickels that have a toning like bronze. Your right that a 183 year old coins would be likely to be spotted by now. But errors from that long ago still turn up quite a bit.
I have about 200 V Nickels and they come in all colors. They have to have been the most abused coin in the history of coinage.
This one is in pretty good shape, very high XF or possibly AU. Full stars, slight wear on the forehead and the hair over the ear. Color looks like burnished copper. Pretty even on both sides. Tried to get a picture but my camera doesn't do well on close-ups and the color looks wrong in the pics.
I love this part, where I say; "It sounds like a dug coin that has been cleaned", then we are told that it isn't a dug coin, and then others submit their guesses.
It seems like you, as a selfprofessed expert on all things numismatic, would be able to sucessfully subtract 1883 from 2007 and get the right answer as to how many years this coin has been around. Before you hurt yourself, the answer is 124 not 183 as stated earier in the post. And you are absoultely correct, it was a "dug" coin!! and it has been cleaned!! How do you do it? Is there anything you don't know.
