I have no experience collecting coins whatsoever, but I got a nickel the other day. 1988 D. Its not all shiney or anything, but the back is half copper. - More like 75%. The back is a typical Nickel back but with copper just mixed , but more as iff the copper the majority of the color and the actual silver nickel color is only in an off-center upper right circle. I remember watching a coin show on TV once about how these errors of not cleaning the dies or something can cause copper to get into other coin stamps and these are rare, but I cannot find any other info online. Does anyone know what this is called? Or any more info. Or how much something like this would be worth? Thanks, Brandon It is not a good idea to post your email address anywhere except in your profile.
to CoinTalk Brandon. If you are looking for someone to privately email an answer to your question, it doesn't work that way at CoinTalk. One of the primary purposes of the forum is education, and private responses do not further that purpose. In addition, usually such requests are legitimate, but there are scammers and phishers out there looking for email boxes they can inundate with spam or malicious viruses, tracking cookies, etc. Until we know you better - and we hope we'll get that opportunity - many of us prefer not to disclose our email addresses.
Hey Yeah, that is fine. I am looking for more of an answer on here. I dont need someone to answer me privately. I am not sure how this usually works, thats why I posted my email. Sorry for any confusion
I don't know. We will probably need to see pics of the coin before being able to be sure. At first I thought it was a missing clad error, but then you said you can still see some nickel. Might be just toning, rust, or some type of plating, but post pics if you can. Good luck, and welcome! Phoenix
Nickels are not clad, they are supposed to be struck on a metal alloy. Occasionally the component metals don't properly mix in an alloy. There's really no way to be sure without at least a clear, well lighted, picture, and possibly an in-hand examination, but based solely on the description, IMO the most likely cause is an imperfectly mixed alloy.
Coin pics Here are the pics. It doesnt seem to be anything on the coin, the discoloation is part of it. It is the exact color as a penny, so I assumed it was just mixed in... Let me know what you think. You can tell the front is completely normal looking, but the back and side (sorry blurry) are mixed colors.
This photo appears to show a surface anomaly to me, like chemical exposure. To test this, use the edge of the coin and lightly scrap away a fine line on the rim. If the copper color goes away and you see metal nickel color, it’s only a surface thing.
I tried to scrape it off before, it doesn't scrape off. It seems fairly deep. If it is imperfectly mixed alloy, is that a valuable mistake?
I've never seen an alloy problem coin go for any significant premium, but when you damaged the surface by scraping the metal, you destroyed whatever numismatic value it may have had. If you can find someone to offer you 6¢, take the money and run. mpaulson - I can't recall ever seeing worse advice in a CoinTalk thread!
that is a stain, not an alloy error. i have a bag if nickels that were mixed in with my pennies - several have various degrees of the same coloration. no numismatic value. spend that puppy. -Steve
yikes Yea, I think not scraping your coin could go to the head of the list right above not cleaning your coins.
it's a well worn nickel. if you want to keep, that's fine - but it has no numismatic value. it simply is worth the face value and as such, i would use it to buy stuff. -Steve
I think that that is probably not the best advice for a newbie. Better advice would be to go to a coin show and look for the table with the most error coins, then ask that dealer for advice on the coin. Do not ask questions like "How much is it worth?". Make it clear you are not looking to sell it for the best opinion.
