Over the years I've saved interesting coins I found in my change. I have 2 coins, a nickel and a quarter that I think are counterfeit. The nickel (1983 D, I believe) looks to have the wear of a 100 year old coin. Most of the detail is gone and it looks like there is a layer of metal peeling away at the edges, like its been plated. The side is also more round compared to a regular quarter. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/NickelFront.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/NickelFrontDual.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/NickelBack.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/NickelBackDual.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/NickelSide.jpg The quarter (1984 P) looks like it been sand blasted. It's also a little thinner. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/QuarterFront.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/QuarterFrontDual.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/QuarterBack.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/QuarterBackDual.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/target022/Coins/QuarterSide.jpg What do you think? Sal
Pocket Piece and Environmental Damage I think that the nickel was carried around as a pocket piece, as evidenced by the odd wear pattern. I've seen other, older, coins like this. Just think; if someone carried this around in their pocket since 1983, it might have obtained the wear it has. The quarter, on the other hand, has been in the ground and has serious environmental damage to boot. Both are genuine, IMHO, because it wouldn't be worth it to make counterfeits of modern, very worn, coins. Hope this helps you out!
I agree the quarter looks like it has been in the ground, but the nickel maybe soaked in vinegar something like that....acid? just a guess
Both coins appear to have suffered from environmental damage and corrosion but I do not think that they are counterfeit. Folks should keep in mind that not every coin which rolls out of the US Mint presses is an MS70. Some are weak strikes and some are just terrible strikes! I doubt that the nickel was really a pocket piece as the coin has no particular significance such as a Half or Large Dollar coin. Most folks carry those because of their unusual size or perhaps sentiment. Another thing to remember is that the early to mid eighties was absolutly horrible for producing quality coins.
The nickel is a dryer nickel. I showed one awhile back and that's what I was told. It looked almost exactly the same. The nickel gets stuck in a commercial dryer at a laundromat and it gets stuck. It doesn't roll around like clothes , it's stuck in a different section, called a fin. As far as the quarter goes, I don't know.
I agree with fretboard, the nickel looks like a "Dryer Nickel". The quarter looks like its been in the ground for a while.
While I would agree about the quarter being a ground find, the nickel is another matter. Getting stuck in a dryer does not cause layers of the coin to peel away. First of all nickels are not made in layers like clad coins, they are made of a solid alloy. So no, that is not a dryer nickel. Can't say what it is exactly, but that's definitely not it. target - I would suggest that you weigh the nickel. If you don't have scales then take it to a jewelry store and have them weigh it. Get the weight to the nearest hundreth gram. What the nickel may be is some sort of annealing error. Mike Diamond discusses them in a an article in the Nov. 30th issue of Coin World. But he doesn't have an explanation for what they are or how they got that way either.
Fret I like the Dryer coin theory. New to me, makes sense. Otherwise you would have to use a lapping machine to do that to a nickel. Traci
Getting stuck in a dryer could be an explanation for the excessive wear. But how does getting stuck in a dryer explain the layers flaking off the coin ? Especially when nickels are not made in layers.
Both remind me of my chemistry classes where we would experiment on coins with every acid on the shelf. Other solutions as well.
Thanks for the info everyone. You've cleared up the mystery. GDJMSP, I weighed the nickel. It came out to 4.7665 grams. A regular nickel weighed 5.0378 grams. Hope that helps. Sal
