I just picked up a new 1944-S NGC MS67* Jefferson Nickel for my registry set. While my current coin has the exact same grade as this new coin and my points have not increased, the coin is still an upgrade. Posted below are photos of both the old and new coins: Old Coin New Coin While the new coin has a distracting spot on the forehead, the rest of the coin is spectacular. The strike is much improved, particularly on the reverse, and the overall eye appeal is off the charts. The 1944-S is one of the harder war nickels to locate with incredible toning. I think this is an incredible find. On a side note, the seller's photos were just a bit oversaturated. We have discussed this E-Bay seller before, but since I know what to expect, I placed a monster bid and needed almost every penny of it to obtain the coin. Here are the seller's photos: As always, comments welcome!
Paul - I think you made a good decision with the upgrade. I like the toning and yes that reverse definitely is an improvement in the strike. Very nice.
I passed on that coin because of the spot on the forehead. It's still a great coin; just that spots bug me. Probably irrelevant, since I don't think I would have bid that high anyway. And I was curious if the photos were juiced a bit. Thanks for clearing that up.
Gorgeous coin(s). However, if you are ever going to catch up with Mark, you need to get some more 68's in there.
I have no shot at ever catching Bressler. Even if they do re-evaluate the scores and they bump my 1943-P DDO MS67 5FS up to the 3000 points it deserves, I would still be 2,000 points behind him. I only wish he had photos so we could fully appreciate his set.
I once thought that I did not have a chance of getting on the first page of Lincoln wheats. I am now #14. Just when, if?, you see a better one, get it. Eventually, you might be surprised.
Great upgrade, Paul. Love the reverse. I would never have bought it based on the seller's photos which I believe are quite awful and distorting. You obviously knew what the coin would actually look like. By the way, is that a diecrack from Tom's eye to his jaw? If so, I think it's quite unique.
I really think that there are so few MS68 Jefferson War Nickels in existence that it may taked decades to pass him. He has 6 MS68's, I have one MS68, no other member of the NGC registry has an MS68 in their collection. The population reports indicate that there are a handful of MS68's for each date/mm but I never see them hit the market.
His juicing of his photos is getting worse I think but I have a really good talent at predicting what a coin will look like in hand based on photos. I am glad you brought up the die crack. It almost looks like Jefferson is crying. There are two small marks, one in the middle of the die crack and the other at the end that look like they could be the actual tears. There is also an impressively crooked die crack in his hair.
Very nice coin Lehigh, the strike is much stronger, and that toning is impressive. Definitely an upgrade :thumb:.
Very nice nickel Lehigh! Great toning on that one even with the freckle on his head it looks really nice!
As I said down the road (NGC boards), I believe that 44S is pretty much my favorite Jeff I've ever seen you post.
Superb upgrade. The old coin was darn nice to begin with, and the new one looks simply wonderful! Congrats on the NEWP.