Often times the term "MONSTER" is used to describe a rainbow toned coin. Most of the time the term is undeserved. Sometimes it is deserved. I present a 1963 Jefferson Nickel NGC MS67* MONSTER. After studying this coin for about an hour, I can come to no conclusion regarding the originality of the toning other than to say it is incredible.
Very nice coin!! I definitely can not say one way or the other whether the toning is legitimate though, but I will say that the reverse brings on suspicion. First item of interest is the colorful obverse but that could go one way or the other. The reverse is where the problem starts for me. If you look starting at the steps and ending under the E Pluribus Unum the circled rainbow looks like it could be AT'd. It even looks like it started from the center of that circle, JMO. Anyways, it's really very nice but I'm sure you have wondered yourself. BTW-Is this the first time you posted this beauty?
Interesting. I've thought this for quite a while but never actually seen it in print. So you're saying TPG's not only have general grading standards for an issue, but also tweak those standards based on the overall quality of specific date/mm coins. In other words, a Jefferson nickel of a different date/mm but otherwise looks exactly like this 1963 could be a MS-66 (or a MS-68?)
I know you're asking Paul, and not me, but yes...the date/mintmark of a coin should be considered when grading. For instance, certain years of Morgan dollars are known to be very poorly struck. A coin of these years may truly be mint state, but may only have AU detail. Someone without this knowledge may think the coin has wear if they just look at the hair above the ear and on the eagle's breast, when in reality it left the mint that way, and is mint state.
I totally agree, just wish they would out "Monster" on your holder, I totally agree, just wish they would put "Monster" on your label/holder, this one deserves it!!!
So based upon this, I would expect there to be more than 6x as many 1964 coins in this grade, even though they would look worse. (6x is about how many more were struck in 1964 than in 1963. And quality was NOT in the Mint's mind in 1964.)
Paul Think the obverse is beautiful but I actually find the reverse a bit distracting. You know these coins far better than me, but I would assume your uncertainty re:AT v. NT is based on the reverse. If it is yours, enjoy it.
I don't always agree with the policy but I am forced to admit that they do it. There was a rather lengthy discussion about this topic as it related to strike in this thread. http://www.cointalk.com/t45572/ The fact is that Jefferson Nickels suffered from not only die deterioration within a given year but hub detoriation over the course of the series. That is why the quality of the coins, specifically strike, continued to worsen year after year. The best struck coins from the entire series are from 1938, 1940, and the war years. Just about every nickel struck after 1953 shows incomplete detail. In addition, hub deterioration compounded other problems such as planchet irregularties. Many collectors confuse planchet flaws on Jefferson Nickels for surface marks. On a fully struck coin, planchet flaws are eliminated in the striking process yet they will remain on a coin not fully struck. I have seen planchet irregularities on war nickels which were some of the best struck coins in the entire series, they are common place on the coins from the later years. In the end, it is impossible to hold a 1963 to the same standard that you would hold a Jefferson from 1940. If you did, this coin might not even make gem state. Compared to other 1963's however, this coin screams only one word: MONSTER. BTW: The coin is mine and I paid a ridiculous price to acquire it.
I've mentioned this to my close friends & Jefferson Collectors, time an time again,,,, " The Beauty of the Jefferson Nickel, (Toned & UnToned) has never ceased to Amaze me..." Very Nice, Paul (LeHigh96) Thanks for sharing it with us.