Found a new (to me) coin shop around the corner from my dentist. Not even one Japanese coin among his 50 or so world coins, but he did have this : What do the experts think about the grade? With this purchase, I'm down to two holes in my Walking Liberty collection.
I would say G6 [but keep in mind others are far more qualified to make this judgement than me, a non-professional]. There is too much rim for it to be G4, but it is worn down to the letter A on the reverse, so it isn't really the full rim needed for VG8 [unless gradeflation kicks in]. I like the coin a lot.
When one gets into the keys, semi-keys and those just plain hard to find dates and mint marks the grade actually means nothing, at least to me, when you looked for years to fill that hole without ever seeing the coins you need. I bought the first 1885 Liberty Nickel (V nickel) that I ever saw and held in my hand. It is a low grade nickel but to me it was everything but that. I now had the opportunity to see one, had it in my hand and could own it with a simple nod of my head! It has increased in value about a hundred bucks in two years so it was a good investment and the fact still remains, it is the only one I have ever encountered in this area, and now it is in MY collection. Grade means nothing until such a time I get the opportunity to upgrade. Only then will this one be for sale.
Spoken like a true collector. The dealer had this in a Whitman Album, about half full. No 1919 or 1921D so those holes remain unfilled in my collection. Almost everything in the album was marked "VG", and priced from the high end of VG to the mid-range of F. Most of them didn't deserve the "V" part of their claimed grade. I (over?)paid high VG money for this one, but its the first one I've seen with a clear "D" and full rims. (The scan doesn't do justice to the reverse rim.)
I know how you feel. I need a 1885 and 1886 to complete my Liberty Nickel collection and have been looking.
