1883 No Cent NIckel

What do you think the grade of this coin is and do you think it is cleaned?

Thanks for any information.

 

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You need to shoot your images on a white or black background. The yellow is messing with the color of the coin. It looks cleaned.

 

Yeah, the color of the coin looks funky as heck. Re-shoot it on a piece of white paper, then we can give a better assessment.

 

I have an 83 no cents, that is very dark like yours. I understand you are kind of jumping through some hoops with the photos. A white or black background would definitely help in this case, it is hard to tell any luster. The background will help set the white balance.
Thanks for cropping the photos.

 

AU55. Cleaned. Cracked above STATES.

 

Don't use a white background.
It can overpower your exposure.

Use a non-reflective black or dark gray background.

 

Okay I will post other photos.
Thanks very much.

 

I do believe what you may have there is what was known as a “racketeers nickel”.... The mint failed to add the word “cents” to the piece. Enterprising counterfeiters of the day would gold plate them and pass them off as five dollar half eagles. I looked for years to find one of them for my collection.... Now this doesn’t really add any numismatic value. However it is one heck of an interesting historical piece! Super nice find.

 

Thanks for the comments.

I have included additional pictures.

 

I'm no expert, but I have seen gold-plated "no cents" pieces being offered by dealers at a premium because of their "colorful" history. The problem was, they looked like they were genuine coins but recently plated. I don't know how anyone could tell for certain. The irony is that they were originally plated back in 1883 to deceive people out of their money, and a modern plating would be made for exactly the same reason.

 

I have a friend with an original 1883 Racketeer nickel. It has a provenance all the way back to his Great-Grandmother that got it in the 1880's. It looks nothing like the new ones. It has a reeded edge that looks like it was done with a file, and the gold plating is not perfect. A dealer friend has had a standing offer with him for $300 since the mid-1980's. He won't sell it. The dealer says it is the only true Racketeer nickel he has ever seen, and the provenance is the kicker. She got it in a store she worked in, but I don't know if they took it as 5¢ or $5.00.

 

I would imagine provably genuine racketeer nickels would be scarce to rare, and not just because it is difficult to prove. Not only were there limited amounts made in the first place, but 5 cents was a fairly decent sum of money and few would have kept them. Collectors would have spurned them. Banks would have disposed of them as mutilated. Provenance would be one of the few ways to know for certain.

 

What would you suggest I do with this coin?

I sincerely appreciate everyone's comments.

 

It is a nice coin, but imo it has been cleaned. Put it in a flip or an album.

 

Assuming, as we have been doing, that the coin is gold plated, as the color in the pictures suggests, I like it. The underlying coin was in very nice condition, which one would expect on an original (they would all have been plated soon after minting). It makes an interesting conversation piece at the very least. Maybe someone who is an expert on these will chime in. I certainly am not.

 

Agree with the cleaning. If it's plated most likely recent. This coin is damaged.
(cleaning/ plating). Uncleaned and unplated I am at $15 XF 45, this coin I might go $5-$8.

 

Thank everyone for the comments.

How can I tell if it has been cleaned? What do I look for?

I know the coin is not valuable but I am trying to learn.

 

BU. Minus the brilliant

 

Nice catch

 

Hey wheatmaster. Great name. Bet you got some intetesting coin. Lets see them