I have a question concerning the Westward Journey nickels. I recently purchased 8 sets directly from the US mint P&D's. Every one of my "P" rolls is short one nickel. I carefully measured the coins and weighed them. Could this be some kind of a scam? Has anybody else noticed this error?
Every now and then the rolls from the Philadelphia mint will be shorter than the rolls from the Denver mint or visa versa. This is caused by one mint using slightly higher pressure than the other mint when the coins are struck. It is known as finning. This year - just about everybody has noticed the same thing you did - the Denver rolls are bigger. But - if you actually opened the rolls and counted the coins you would see they have the same 40 nickels in each roll. It is because each Denver nickel is slightly thicker. Individually - side by side with a P nickel you won't see much difference. But put 40 of them together and that difference adds up so it is noticeable. As for the weight - the mint has a tolerance that is permitted. Each coin may vary slightly - a fraction of a gram. But again - add the weight of 40 of them and it can add up to another coin. I assure you - the rolls all have 40 coins each.
Thanks for the quick response. I thought all nickels were the same size. Your explanation sounds pretty convincing.
You're welcome As I said - you are not alone in thinking this. There have been several articles about it in the numismatic magazines over the past few weeks. The different size rolls really had folks going for a bit.
