Hey everyone, I've been curious about this for awhile... why are 1883 w/ cents nickels worth more than 1883 no cents nickels? I've tried to figure out a logical conclusion but have been unable to. You'd think the no cents variety would command a higher premium being that only 5+ million of them were minted, as opposed to 16+ million for the w/ cents variety. I also figured less of the no cents varieties would have survived untarnished as many were gold plated and passed off as $5 gold pieces. And lastly, I would have thought that being the only V nickels of this reverse design would make them a novelty to collectors and further enhance their value. Clearly I'm missing something here, knowing me it's probably clear as can be and I've just failed to notice, but does anyone have info on why the w/ cents variety has a higher book value? Thanks in advance.
My gut says that since the "no cent" was the first issue of a new series, more were pulled from circulation by collectors. Thus, more survive today in all grades than "w/cents".
I agree, a lot of people thought they were going to be a rarity in the future so they saved them out.
No Cents were saved by the millions. 1883 With cents were not saved, and there were less of them made.
Plus, since they were replaced, due to gold plating and passing them off as $5 coins, rumors started that the government was going to 'recall' them & melt them. Which, of course, they never did
