Hi I couldn't find anything to tell me what is wrong with this coin so I joined cointalk to find out. The center of the coin seems bulged out on both sides. The detail on Monticello and Jefferson is weak but it doesn't look like coin ware. Any info would be greatly appreciated thank you!
And the line around the edge of the back that runs through e pluribus unum. I've never seen a coin like this
It is not an error, just an uncommon strike effect found on "S" mint Jefferson Nickels. It is known to Jefferson collectors as the "halo effect" coined by Bernard Nagengast, author of THE JEFFERSON NICKEL ANALYST. It has no effect on the value of the coin. Most of the coins showing this effect are from 1939 to 1941 but I have seen it on post WWII nickels as well. Here is a photo of a 1940-S with a strong halo effect.
No reason to apologize, you thought it was an error so you posted in the correct section. I should add that the 1954-S is notoriously the worst struck date/mm in the entire Jefferson Nickels series. The incomplete details of Monticello are related the typically poor strike for this year and is not related to the "halo effect". I have posted below two photos of 1954-S Jefferson Nickels. The first has a typical strike and the second is my registry set example which has an outstanding strike for the date/mm. Most 1954-S Jefferson Nickels have no step detail at all. Paul
This defiantly is odd even knowing what this is still not a lot of info on it out there other then the book you mentioned
The coin shown above was auctioned by Heritage back in January 2008 (see link below) 1940-S 5C MS67 Five Full Steps NGC Their explanation was "Some wavy marks in the fields are as struck, and may have been caused by die polishing." I have never been fully satisfied with that explanation but have yet to come up with a better explanation for the effect.
The mint mark is located on the reverse to the right of Monticello on Jefferson Nickels. If no mint Mark is present, then the coin was minted in Philadelphia. In 1968, the mint mark was moved to obverse below the date. In 1980, the Philadelphia Mint started using mint marks. For the war Nickels from 1942-45, the mint mark appears above Monticello for all mints.
