1939-D Jefferson Nickel Battle Royale (Pick 2)

#6 = $66
#2 = $32

 

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4 days left to get your votes in guys.

 

I think for me, #2 is the clear winner.

After that, there are 4 or 5 which would be runners up. I picked #1 in the poll mostly because I like the color, #6 and #7 were close. Plenty of others have strong aspects.

#4 would have been nice if it didn't have the fingerprints, and the gash on the jawbone.

For me, #5 and #10 are absolute dogs.

 

Wanna guess the purchase price of #1 & #2 Jason?

 

Not really. I'm not in touch with the nickel market, and toned nickels often sell for weird prices. Based on their eye appeal, and apparent high grade, I'd guess they sold for more than whatever the price guide says!

 

So I gotta post them in the Toning Premium thread?

 

Bump, one day left to get your votes in before the reveal.

 

You'll have to tell us YOUR two favorites. It would only be fair! (And you have a really good eye for Jeffersons)

 

If you want to see which are my favorites, just visit my NGC Registry collection.

The Atlantic City Set of Jefferson Nickels

 

The 1939D in your registry set is my favorite of the ten, great minds right!?

 

#1: $60 ($83 with grading fee) I was looking for MS65* or better on this coin. The toning is incredible and it is no surprise that this coin came in 3rd in the poll.



#2: $514 This is my registry coin that I purchased back in 2008. I got into a bidding war on E-Bay and really wanted it because it was the best rainbow toned rev of 38 that I had ever seen. I paid moon money, but this coin deservedly came in 2nd in the poll.



#3: $282 This coin surprises me, I expected this coin to be the primary competition to my registry coins. It is a blazing PCGS MS67 with nice even gold toning. It came in 5th in the poll but I expected it do far better. I sold this coin in 2015 for a tidy profit.



#4: $77 ($100 with grading fee) This is the GSC coin that I bought back in 2017 when the forum was arguing about the marketing techniques of GSC. I paid retail price for MS65 on a coin that they advertised as GEM BU+++. Upon seeing the coin in hand, I was worried it was a slider and it took me over two years to work up the courage to submit the coin. I had a sigh of relief about the mint state grade despite it not being gem as advertised and was bailed out financially by the 5 full step designation. A number of you really liked this coin and it came in 4th in the poll.



#5: $32 ($55 with grading fee) I feel so bad for this coin. I bought on E-Bay for a good price and thought it was a nice gem that I could make a small profit on by flipping after certification. I hope the polling results that didn't garner a single vote are not an indication that this coin will languish in my inventory.




#6 $138 When a Jefferson Nickel collector uses a coin as his Avatar on a coin forum, it is a pretty safe be that the coin is tremendous. As expected, this is my registry coin and safely took the #1 spot over my other registry coin which came in 2nd. I gotta give it to you guys, you really can spot quality coins. I bought this coin from Heritage in 2009 when their photos still left a lot to be desired (see below).





#7: $102 This one also surprised me by garnering only one vote. It is a nice MS67 with pastel rainbow toning. I am guessing that the satin luster is what scared people off of this coin.




#8: $65 This is my Intercept Shield album coin. I bought it back in 2012, cracked it, and its been in my album collection ever since. It got some love with 2 votes.



#9: $4 ($27 with grading fee) This coin was part of a collection that was housed in a Capital Plastics holder. I simply took the purchase price, divided it by the number of coins, and applied that number as the buy price for each coin in the collection. This coin is tremendous, and I am actually glad that it didn't come back MS67. If it had, I would have had a serious decision to make. Do I keep my Avatar, or replace it with a "homeade" that has very distinctive and attractive burnt orange toning? I picked this as my second favorite coin and am a little surprised that it didn't get more love.



#10 $2 This was another coin plucked from a Dansco collection that I purchased recently. It is the only raw coin of the bunch and I have already sold it on E-Bay for $35. I think someone gave this a sympathy vote.




I will be going through the price guesses soon to figure out who was closest.

 

#4 = $100
#6 = $138

You were off by $142.

#2 = $514
#6 = $138

You were off by $552, but take solace in the fact that you picked both of my registry coins.

#2 = $514
#6 = $138

You were off by $452, but like Razz you also picked both of my registry coins. Good job!

#1 = $83
#2 = $514

You were off by $466 but you essentially nailed the first coin. Everyone who picked number 2 was under, it is very tough to guess the value of a coin when both registry fever and toning premium collide.

#2 = $514
#6 = $138

You were off by $554, but like both Razz & ddddd, you picked both of my registry coins. Thumbs up!

#4 = $100
#9 = $27

You were only off by $63 and that was a tremendous post that really showed you know how to grade Jefferson Nickels, Bravo!

You are the winner!

 

@Lehigh96 WE are all the winners because we get to enjoy your coins and learn about this somewhat underrated (in some people's eyes; not mine though) series! Thank you for the oppurtunity!

 

A very pretty group of coins, but they can't all be the bell of the ball. I would be quite please to have any of these filling a spot in my collection.

 

Woohoo. Good stuff. That was fun.

Thank you for all the knowledge from your posts over the last half decade. I came here knowing nothing; you and gbroke lead me to develop a love for this series. Your well informed posts and frequent GTG threads have improved my eyes and taste over the years.

I feel great having #2 registry coin as my third pick and knowing that you felt #9 was worthy of a potential registry spot. I think it’s off the charts which is why I felt it was a 67. I also believe #4 deserved the 65 and that the satin luster on #7 was deceiving which is why I gave it 66. The price guesses were a crap shoot and I feel better about my guesses on the grade.

Thanks again for another great thread!!

 

Question, Today, would you still pay $514 for the coin if it was available and you didn't already own it? I have paid up for a Jefferson and do not regret it, but most people would think I am nuts for paying as much for a Jefferson nickel. I think you picked up #1 at a great price. Thanks for sharing.

 

That’s a tough question. My experience in feedback about #2 is that the spotting on the forehead is distracting to the point that it would keep others from paying top dollar for this coin. It doesn’t bother me but I would be a fool to think that it won’t affect liquidity. Additionally, the populations of this coin in MS67 have increased dramatically which has suppressed the pricing of the coin.

I have been buying whole album collections of Jeffersons lately and have been astonished at the high level of quality I have seen from the pre-war coins, War Nickels, and 50-D. That leads me to believe that Jefferson Nickel collections still aren’t being cherrypicked for quality premium gems and that there are still an ample quality of each date available.

If you combine those facts with my change in both financial situation and collecting style, I highly doubt that I would pay the exorbitant price that I paid more than a decade ago. In 2012 I started selling coins and it changed my perspective on how to buy coins. There isn’t a problem with paying a large premium for a truly monster toned coin, and those monsters still perform very well in the market place today. That said, second tier toners experience much more volatility and paying up for one of those, like the coin in question, will often end up burying you in the coin.

 

Thank you for the honest and thoughtful reply. I paid $300 for the complete set I picked up at the WFOM about 10 years ago primarily to get 1 coin. There were a few coins that were really nice and few that were AU55 or 58. Still satisfied that overall I would have been happy at $150 for the specific coin I wanted which ungraded leaves me wondering how well I did. At the end of the day, it is about the coin and how I like it, and not how much I might be upside down.

 

Most of the sets I’ve purchased recently sell for that same $300. If you bought an AU/BU set for one coin, that’s fine. I would just subtract that coin and the value that you think it is worth from your total buy price. As long as the rest of the collection is less than $2 per coin, I think you should be able to get your money back whether you sell the nicer pieces individually or sell it as a complete set.

Out of curiosity, what was the one coin that you wanted from that set?

 

It is this coin, my photos do not do the toning justice!

https://www.cointalk.com/posts/3767734/