Destiny of a 1952 Jefferson Nickel

Earlier this year, a collector decided to part with his 1952 Jefferson Nickel NGC MS67. This is a coin with a total population of (14/0) and a Numismedia Price of $220. Naturally, he chose Heritage to handle the sale of his coins and the saga of the 1952 Jeff began. Once I saw the photo of this remarkably toned nickel, I knew I had to have it. Heritage is notorious for failing to do toned coins justice with their assembly line photographs. I could tell from the photo and the subtle hints of color that this coin was a spectacular iridescent toned monster whose true colors could not be captured by a straight on photo. A true gambler, I decided that I would place a ridiculous bid of $1,000 that would surely secure this coin's future. To my surprise at auctions end, I was outbid by $100 and the final price realized with buyers premium was $1265. Here is a link to the auction and a cleaned up rendition of Heritage's straight shot photo.

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=69031&Lot_No=61142



For months I sulked over the fact that I probably let the finest toned 1952 Jefferson Nickel in existence slip through my fingers. I never imagined that another collector would come down with auction fever to usurp my ridiculous bid. Did he even know what a monster he had just purchased, maybe he did. To add insult to injury, last month, I found the new residence of the Jeff. It belonged in another NGC registry set. And as upsetting as that was, I was completely dismayed when I saw the collector's photo. All I could think to myself is that justice had not been served and nobody should keep a Jefferson of this quality in the dark.



Then out of nowhere, as if the numismatic gods themselves intervened, the 1952 Jeff showed up in a DLRC auction. Perhaps the only company with worse photos of toned coins than Heritage is DLRC. Again, the straight on photograpy on showed hints of the monster iridescent color that I knew layed on the surface of this premium gem.



I thought to myself, there is no way that lightning strikes twice. Nobody in their right mind would outbid me based on this photo. They would have to have seen both photos and even then, they would have to be a little crazy. I had convinced myself and for the second time in 6 months placed my ridiculous bid of $1,000. I fully expected to be outbid in some sort of cruel joke, but the bid never came. At auctions end, the coin was mine for a price of $195.50. Could this be true. Could I actually have picked up this coin for less than wholesale. Joy of joys it was true!

Today was the day that I picked the coin up from the post office. And I was greeted by one of the most fantastically toned Jeffersons I have ever seen. While both Heritage and DLRC's photos are technically accurate, they fail to capture the true beauty of the coin. From a straight view, both of their photos are decidedly an accurate representation of the coin's actual appearance. But once rotated under a light, a different coin reveals itself. A monster toned obverse with intermingled shades of lemon yellow, tangerine, rasperry, grass green, periwinkle, violet, and sandy tan. The reverse is more subtly toned in pastel yellow, blue, violet, tan, and blushes of magenta. Without further ado, I present the 1952 Jefferson Nickel that followed it's destiny into my collection.



It is days like this that make this hobby fantastic.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Fantastic story , It's great that you got a second chance on such a fabulous piece. The tonning is quite stunning , what is also stunning is that fack that you picked it up for 1,000 less then the time you tried yo grab it off HA. Thanks for posting and congratulation.

 

haha.
when I saw the last picture, I thought "that looks a lot like the first..."

wow! They did not take those pictures very well.
And you won it for a bit less than a thousand, lol.

so it's a good thing you didn't win it the first time...
but this should be testament to good photos.

 

Thank you and I couldn't wait to tell you guys the story. I haven't been this happy about a coin in quite some time. Here are the oversized photos of the coin for your enjoyment.




:kewl:

 

All I can say is AAaawwwww YEAH! Congrats!

 

Wow, what a great coin. Although, I have to wonder what made the fellow who purchased it the first time for $1265 change his mind since he took quite a loss on it.

 

I would like to believe it was his frustration in an attempt to take a proper photo of this coin.:headbang:

 

Thanks for the close-ups. It's great how we pull so much enjoyment out of tiny "tarnished" metal pieces I hope I get a fraction of your luck in the upcoming months

 

Great story and a beautiful coin.

 

Thanks for the story.

 

Cool story! Another beauty. I can see why you're so happy. What a great coin with maybe even a greater story behind it. I can't believe the other guy was ready to let it go so fast and willing to take such a bath no less! Congrats.

 

WOW! Neat-o story!
It is kinda cool, it sold for so much, and then you got it for so little. I bet you are glad that you didn't win at the heritage auction, because if you would have won, you would have paid a ton, and you wouldn't be able to tell us such a great story

 

Great story, awesome coin! You two were obviously meant to be together

 

Great story Lehigh, and a beautiful nickel to go with it!

 

Congrats!

 

I saw this nickel quite awhile back and see that it is still available, although I thought you would have picked it up by now :hammer:



That is, until I saw your 44D registry coin

 

That looks like Evan Gale's coin which is also a monster toned Appalachian just like mine. From the same submission in fact. There is only one problem. The price is ridiculous. If he ever drops it under $1,000, I will buy it in a heartbeat.

 

WOW! You are good!
I also thought the price was WAY over the top. I've been thinking about driving over and taking a look at it in person since this is not far from where I work, but I doubt they will let me in the door

 

Beauty! I wonder why NGC didn't give it a 'star' designation? Did they grade it before they started doing 'star'? Seems like a perfect candidate...do you think the technical grade is a 67?

Again, beautiful coin!

 

I see it as a low end MS67, but the TPG's are more forgiving with the later date Jeffersons. The toning is iridescent so I am not sure that it would ever star. The coin only really comes alive when tilted into a light source. When viewed from straight on, the coin has a sandy appearance with little blushes of color.