Hi guys I was wandering what this rare nickel is worth and what you think the strike quality is and if I should get it graded. Thank you all for your time!
The 1925 S nickel is notorious for being one of the worst made nickels of the whole series. That is very evident from the worn dies on the obverse of your coin. That being said, I'd put this at an AU level. The reverse is actually pretty good for this year, even if the obverse is looking weak. It all depends on the luster, which I can't tell from your pictures. If it is AU, I'd put it in the $250 range... and that's right on the border of being worth getting it graded or not.
Can the obverse of the coin reduce the grade because of its strike? It’s got really good luster and I think it could be higher then AU
The Obverse is usually the first thing that TPGs look at. However, your reverse also shows wear. In my opinion, it is AU at best, even knowing that the '25 series is noted for weak strikes.
It is not higher than AU - there is wear evident on the coin, so it is AU. The difference between a weak strike and wear can be difficult to discern, because they both affect the high points. I would expect an AU coin to have good luster... it is almost uncirculated. With coins which are known for their weak strikes, the graders take that into account when evaluating coins.
Can't really tell the grade from these photos. Need to take it out of the case and get closer. USA Coin Book quotes: F $30 VF $99 EF $223 AU $341. I would lean more to XF even with a weak strike. But I can't really see all the details very well.
You should know that mintage numbers don't tell the whole story. If you look at the series, 25S isn't one of the toughest dates, or a key date, but it is by no means one of the common dates. In AU, it's a $300 coin.
If it were in a low grade, I'd agree. It's a bit more valuable than a common date, but not too bad. But I hope we agree that this is a bit higher than a low grade?
Yep, conditional rarity. One of my favorite examples is the 1881-S (mintage 12,760,000) vs. the 1884-S (mintage 3,200,000) Morgan. In lower grades (G-F), they both trade as cheap as any other common Morgan, $33-45. In MS60, they're respectively $72 and $9400. In MS65, they're $200 and $237,000. I also like the 1904-S Barber half. Mintage 553,000, compared to 124,000 for the 1914-P. In G, they go for $58 and $110 respectively. In F, $414 vs. $360. In XF, $2880 vs. $960. In MS61, $11,300 vs. $1950...
