Jefferson Nickels - I swear it's not circulated. The curse of terrible dies.

The Jefferson series is plagued with weak strikes and terribly deteriorated dies throughout many years. This is especially prevalent in the 50's to the early 60's.
I thought I would share some examples.
Those not very familiar with the series would be surprised to see some Jefferson that are actually in mint state and not worn circulated coins. In many cases, the luster should be a giveaway that the coin is uncirculated, however if you factor in toning or muted luster, they can easily be mistaken for circulation wear.

The key areas I look at, are:
Obverse - Hair detail - especially above the ear.
Reverse - The entire facade of the Monticello.

Our control piece: A first year, early die state with a nice strong strike creating sharp details.




Now onto some examples of mint state Jefferson nickels in various degrees of deterioration.






I would love to see other examples from not only the Jefferson series, but other series as well.
Show em if you got em!

 

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Lovely examples of these dies, gbroke!

 

I wouldn't blame it all on worn dies.
Strike pressure is also a culprit.
If the Mint had tried to get the nickels (hard metal) fully struck up the dies wouldn't have lasted long.

 

Yeah Kanga, this is a valid point as well.

 

Pathetic looking nickels, those. Isn't this similar to the Buffalo nickels, some really poor strikes, including some early 1920's ones with the '19' very weak?

 

Great educational post. Thank you.