Recently I have noticed on EBAY some Jeffersons graded by ANACS. The confusion I have is with the number of steps they list on the slab. Some say 5 steps , some 5.5 , others 6 steps. If you were to look at purchasing the coins would the 5 and 5.5 steps ( on older dates ) qualify as full-steps when looking at the price guides. I see that other TPG'S simply say full-steps but not a number along with it. Thanks for your responses.
1938- 1989 = 5 steps is full 1990 on = 6 steps is full And, there are inbetweens such as that 5.5 steps. Edited: Oops, it was 1989 that ended the 5 full steps.
That depends. I can't remember for sure how long it's been, but I don't think it's been 2 yrs yet - but up until then NGC would not designate a nickel as FS unless it had the 6 full steps. It had nothing to do with the date on the coin. And I must say, I always agreed with this rationale. A coin is either FS or it isn't. And since there are 6 steps then all 6 of them need to be full to qualify for the designation. It's kind of like saying that glass is three quarters full so we might as well say it's full. :rolling: But eventually NGC gave in to pressure from collectors and dealers and decided to jump on the bandwagon with PCGS & ANACS. If you collect these coins, you need to be aware that no 5.5 or 5 step coin sells for the same price as 6 step coin. And about the only way you will ever see the price differences is to check auction records. Just make sure that when you compare those records you aren't comparing a sale from 2001 with one from 2005 or something. That won't take into account the price increases in the past 4 years.
Here is a photo of 2 NGC slabs....of 1 nickels...same date and mintmark.....as you can see one is 5FS and the other one is 6FS......it does mess a guy up to see this. Speedy
Thanks for these feedbacks. Now the question I have is ... In the price guides you see prices for full-step. So , does that mean 5 or 6 steps for the earlier dates ? I don't remember seeing any seperate prices for 5 vs. 6 steps. I know the later dates have to be 6.
I suppose you did notice there is actually a separate forum under clubs for just Nickels. Why is another thing. I never did like the Jefferson Nickels. I have 8 full sets of those things only because I'm a coin collector. When I evaluate my collection for insurance purposes, I don't even include those Nickels. By the way anyone know if there are steps on the other side of that stucture? Anyone here ever see that building and count the actual steps? If there are really more or less than the coin shows, would that make the structure a counterfeit?
Most price guides are for 5 steps 1938 - 1998. 6 steps for 1990 -present. However the early dates with 6 full steps are worth more than ones with 5 steps. The price just depends on how bad someone wants it. Many early Jefferson's are impossible to find with 6 steps
