I like this coin because its detail yet it seems more affordable. This will go in my damaged coins 7070 and I wont resale. Is this a coin worth the 20 or is it not even worth that? https://www.ebay.com/itm/1883-U-S-M...%3Ac9c245421600aa4931539437ffe1fa52%7Ciid%3A1
to many scratches on the reverse. skip it and buy a better coin. you will be happier in the end with a better grade.
If you are actually collecting damaged coins in a 7070 on purpose (and if that floats your boat, why not? I had a long flirtation with holed coins myself), and you don't intend to resell it, and don't mind the price, then there's no reason not to go for it. Obviously you're unlikely to ever get that much money back out of it if you decided to sell it later, but if you think it's a worthwhile addition, have fun with it. Other than the obvious damage and the fact that it looks to have been cleaned (aside from everything else, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?), it doesn't look totally awful. And the damage is mildly interesting. You want my plausible but unprovable pet theory? I think somebody long ago needed a "No Cents" 1883 nickel for a type set, could not find a No Cents Liberty nickel, and made their own "No Cents" variety out of a Shield nickel. Why? We will never know. Is it worth $22.76 after shipping? No, not to most of us. Worth that to you and you alone? Only you can answer that.
PS- Numismedia lists an undamaged 1883 Shield nickel for $61 in XF40 and $91 in AU50. I'd say the details grade on this piece falls somewhere in that ballpark. So is this damaged example worth about 1/3 of the undamaged XF price? Maybe, to some folks. Not to most, however. But in light of the retail priceguide values, I don't think $22.76 as-is for this one is completely insane. Just a little bit much.
I know back in the day people used to try to remove the word cents from coins to try to pass them as dollar coins but this scratch looks fairly new
It's not necessarily new. I do not get that impression. Such abrasions on a copper-nickel coin like this could appear somewhat brighter than the surrounding metal for decades, if not a century. Of course the whole coin has a somewhat scrubbed appearance. The removal of CENTS to try and pass coins as as "dollar coins" is not something I've ever heard of. Perhaps you're thinking of the "Racketeer Nickel" folklore about Josh Tatum trying to pass an 1883 "No Cents" Liberty nickel as a five-dollar gold piece after plating it with gold.
Bill Fivaz had an 1886 nickel that had CENTS removed and replaced with FIVE. Then the edge was "reeded" and the whole thing gold plated. It did happen, but rarely.
Unless you just have to have it, have patience. Nobody else will want it (unless they only look at the obverse), and eventually it will probably be re-listed at a lower price. Of course. there is no guarantee of this, and it might not.
The piece has VF details, but some really serious damage. No, it is not worth $20. That being said, its your money and if it makes you happy, have at it. I wouldn't buy it.
My "uneducated" guess would be that someone heard about the 1883 nickel, without cents ("V", of course) being gold plated and passed as a $5 gold coin. And they saw an 1883 nickel and thought they would scratch the "cents" off, gold plate it and have a $5 gold coin. But, they got mixed up between the "V" and "shield" Nickels. Probably learned their mistake and didn't finish removing the date. Only reason I can think of? I know, weak minded, but, like you said, 'why' else'?
Agreed. Its a junk coin. If it was merely cleaned it maybe worth $20, with the damage on the reverse its worth $2-$3, period. Have patience. A nicer cleaned coin will come around for the same or similar money.