1959 jefferson "black-beauty", just how many are still out there?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by chasindreams, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. chasindreams

    chasindreams Member

    Do you Appreciate Rare and Unusual Coins ?

    Well', Here is the 1959' Jefferson >>> "Black-Beauty" !

    Quality was a real problem, and much of this Issue is Dark or Black in Color,with many surface nicks!
    Mark-Free Gems,(Like this one) is scarce an' hard to find.

    The 1958 Jefferson had most of these "Black Beauties", where in this
    date only a few were found. Black Beauty, Sintered' Coins, is a perfect addition to any Jefferson Collection.

    It was Nicknamed the "Black Beauty," this extraordinary coin gets its distinctive black finish from being
    sintered, or left in the furnace too long during the annealing process.
    This Jefferson has distinctive black finish on both sides...

    (Notice the Quality,Clean Surface's) of this coin. This Unique-Nickel is a True-Gem for Coin Collectors.As this one, only a few appeared, as Charcoal Colored "Black-Beauty" Coins!

    Are the Facts' Correct? Are these Actually considered a rare coin (?) I wanted to share these Photo(s) not only to Jeff/Collectors already out here, but for the beginner's that may not have seen these unusual' coins. Enjoy! chasindreams/:kewl:
     

    Attached Files:

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  3. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Depends on the facts you're talkin about I guess. Are there coins like this struck on sintered planchets that are called Black Beauties - Yup, there are.

    But below is what I have always called a Black Beauty for more years than I can remember. It really wasn't until recent years that I eve rheard of the sintered planchet coins being called Black Beauties. But according to what ya find on the web - that's them. You don't even see picks of these anymore.


    Are they considered rare ? Not by me. But anybody trying to sell one says they are rare.

    Now these - these are rare !
     

    Attached Files:

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  4. borgovan

    borgovan Supporter**

    GD,

    Your coin looks like a blue-toned proof to me.

    The coins I've always seen referred to as "black beauties" are 1958 or 1959 nickels, business strikes, that are on charcoal-dark planchets.
     
    zorro191 likes this.
  5. jody526

    jody526 New Member

    The "Black Beauties", that I am familiar with, are dark colored nickels, mostly from the late Fifties.
    They are business strikes, and resulted from poor Minting, mainly during the annealing and washing processes.

    I've seen them in many differring shades of brown and black.
    I don't consider them to be "rare", but uncirculated examples are not extremely common.

    "Black Beauty" was orriginally conceived as a marketing term by dealers seeking to move product by inventing a catch phrase, that hopefully would generate interest in coins that were considered, by many, to be undesirable.
     
  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Yes it is. But it such a dark blue that it is almost black.


    A whole lot of people say the same thing. But the time period is important. I am talking about back in the '60s. Back then, I'd never even heard of a sintered planchet. Back then, the coin I posted is what they called a Black Beauty. I even used to know a guy who could duplicate them with AT. He's passed on now, but his coins were called Black Beauties too - and they looked just like mine. Every one was a Proof.

    I believe that a popular name for a beautiful coin was copied and began to be used for the sintered planchet coins in more recent years. As Jody said - it was a marketing gimmick.
     
  7. jody526

    jody526 New Member

    Doug,

    I can't remember the exact date, when I first saw "Black Beauties" listed for sale in publication.
    It was probably sometime in the Eighties.

    I was not aware that cobalt blue proofs were refered to, as such, much earlier.
    Interestng bit of info. Thanks.
     
  8. chasindreams

    chasindreams Member

    Whoa'~ Now, that is really dark! GDJMSP ? Can you, or is it possible to get more pics of your coin that might show the quality a little better?, with a lil' more-lighting with it? Is this raw of slabbed ?
     
  9. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    It was raw, and I don't own the coin any more.
     
  10. 19Lyds

    19Lyds Member of the United States of Confusion

    Coins on sintered planchets can be found in most denominations. The Black Beauty Jefferson Nickels of 1959 was a marketing campaign to sell the nickels.

    Yes some of them are quite nice and in higher grades can command strong premiums from certain error collectors.

    Sintering is where powder gets baked onto the surface of a coin in much the same manner as the method that wheels get colored for different applications. For copper nickel clad coins with a 100% copper core, copper powder is one of the by products of the tumbling that these coins go through. That powder can cling to the copper nickel surface and if the coin stays too long in the annealing ovens, it turns very dark as the powder bakes onto the surface. The coloration is usually very splotchy and unless you're not paying attention, the coins look like they are covered in a dark grease and appear abused. The bright copper core gives the sintering away every time though.
    Typically, a coin which is sintered, is much darker than other coins of its type.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    For nickels, a batch of sintered coins was produced in 1959 and some enterprising dealer came up with the moniker "Black Beauty".
    [​IMG]
    They were black but they were also sintered coins.
    [​IMG]
    Here's a 2004 Peace Medal Nickel that has a "purpleish sintering":
    [​IMG]
    Other well known sintered coins are found in the Presidential Dollar Series:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    all of the above "could" be referred to as Black Beauties but its totally up to the discerning error collector as to what premium to pay.
     
  11. razorblaydesjr

    razorblaydesjr Active Member

    Came across this old thread reading about 'Black Beauty's'. I'm now curious if my SBA could be a sintered coin? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

    [​IMG]
     
  12. Keyman64

    Keyman64 Well-Known Member

    Hmmm, these are new to me. But of course I just started playing with some moderns recently and have focused on really cool toned Jefferson proofs.
     
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  13. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    Doesn't appear so to me. Environmental effects more likely, but photos are difficult to judge annealing problems.
     
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  14. 19Lyds

    19Lyds Member of the United States of Confusion

    A photo of the edge might answer the question but in all honesty, it doesn't look sintered to me.
     
  15. razorblaydesjr

    razorblaydesjr Active Member

    Thanks guys. I actually have it labeled as a 'details' coin. I picked it up for face value at my LCS awhile ago because I thought it just looked really different and thought, what the heck.

    @19Lyds, what feature(s) should I be looking for on the edge? Thanks again.
     
  16. 19Lyds

    19Lyds Member of the United States of Confusion

    I was thinking that the edge should not look the same as the obv and rev.
     
  17. Real Slick

    Real Slick Active Member

    all of the info, was informative. thanks to all
     
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