At a coin show a dealer showed me a 1939 Jefferson that he wanted $20 for since it was supposed to have a 1938 reverse. I looked at it, compared it to other 38 and 39 Jefferson Nickels and could not see any difference. Anyone here know anything about this?
I will give you a link to an earlier thread with that provides a good description and I will provide some photos that might be helpful as well. http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t32652/ Jefferson Nickel 1939-S Rev or 38 NGC MS67 Jefferson Nickel 1939 Rev of 40 NGC MS67 Jefferson Nickel 38 Reverse (Left) vs 40 Reverse (Right) Notice how the steps on the 38 Reverse seem to have no defined start and ending point whereas the 40 steps are consistent.
Fantastic answer. Thanks. I didn't think anyone knew all this but you sure do. So I did purchase that coin and since I was comparing it to all my other 1938's and 39's and could see nothing different, I would then assume all my 1939's are with the 38 reverse. Sounds like the primary difference is in clarity of the reverses details which could only be really noticed in a very high grade coin. Obvioulsy well worn coins would all look similar. Now from what that aritcle you mentioned stated it appears that the 39 with the 38 is more expensive or to say more valuable. Again, thanks for all that info.
Funny...I got a couple of older Jeffersons including a 38 the other day and I was wondering the same thing. THanks for the great answer!
I am in the process of building an NGC Registry set of Jefferson Nickels. I think it is essential to understand the series you collect. Although I don't know much about varieties, errors, and RPM's, I have a pretty good understanding of grading standards by both PCGS & NGC and their related values with respect to both non FS and FS Jeffs. To be honest, this is one of the more difficult aspects of the Jefferson series. I sometimes have trouble with high grade examples, I would have no idea how to attribute a circulated example. If you find a high grade 1939-P Reverse of 38 with FS, watchout, they go for big money. Equally as rare are the 1939-S Reverse of 40 FS which does not exist in MS67.
