Hello all, hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving Hey, I was digging thru a group of coins over the holiday and found this Shield Nickel. I must have set it aside for this reason. I believe it could possibly be a RPD but am having some trouble identifying it. It doesn't seem to match anything in the CPG or any other site I've looked. Was really hoping someone could maybe comment or point me to the right info. Or, is this just MD with a lot of cracks and cud? The nickel is in a ICG holder at MS60. Thanks again for any help or comments!
I am not an expert on shield nickels but have you looked at http://shieldnickels.net? One point made in this source is: "An important thing to understand about the mint's use of the design hubs in the shield nickel series is that it was not until the introduction of Obverse C and Reverse IIc in 1869 that the mint created master dies and working hubs. Prior to 1869 working dies were created directly from master hubs. So, features such as broken letters on coins prior to 1869 can be traced back directly to deterioration of the master hub, and such features can be used to place coins properly in an emission sequence." From this and other research, my understanding is there is a lot of variety and EDS LDS features as the master die deteriorated, so it is not always easy to place your nickel in a particular, recognized error. Your coin is a nice specimen with a mint error that makes it desirable (in my opinion).
Thanks so much Ana for the info, I did check the site you referenced, but did not take the time to read it thoroughly. I'll go back and have a good read...again thanks so much for your time and you too Jersey! You guys ROCK!
You must realize that these were the very early years of coining 75/25 CuNi alloy coins and the hardness of the metal, and hence the damage to the dies, was only newly being realized as a design problem. Many early nickels have die cracks and chips in and around the dates. It was the bane of that series.
Your coin looks like a RPD (1&7) w/many die breaks through the date. The "1" may not be repunched - you have the coin. I don't think the "7" is strike doubled as I see no other "shift" on your coin. That said, I cannot match your die to any photos of RPD's.
Thanks Gents!(and Young Lady!) Insider, there is a little shift in the coin on other devices, but, the shift is light and going the opposite way of the 7. Hope that made sense. I'm thinking the 1 is just a bit of shadowing from my lighting angle. Kurt, your so right, I have several Shield nics and all of them have cracks in various areas, most notably around the rim and letters. If you guys think it will help, I can try and take a few more pics at different angles......
You can try, but I predict it'll be hard to tell for sure without being able to "rotate it" in the hand. That's the inherent shortcoming of doing this with photos.
I hear ya, it was difficult to get the shots I have in the slab. Thanks for all the help and info Kurt.
On the coin in question, I see a rim cud below the 7, multiple die cracks through the date, and strike doubling west on all 4 digits and nearby devices. No RPD that I can see. The fact that the doubling is the same on the date and nearby devices is always a giveaway on shield nickels that you are seeing strike doubling. Dates were entered by hand into dies after the rest of the design was fully hubbed. Therefore, identical doubling on the date and nearby devices can only occur during the strike of the coin. For those who don't know me by my handle, I am the author of shieldnickels.net.
This statement is a bit confused. There is no master die prior to the latter part of 1869. Before then, there was a single master hub, but multiple working dies (made directly from the master hub). Also, in general, [shield nickel] varieties are not created by die deterioration but by some issue with the die creation process (e.g., misaligned hubbings causing doubled dies). This definition of a variety implies that a variety is present throughout the lifetime of the die's usage no matter how much wear the die has. The major counter-example to that definition that comes to mind is the 3-legged buffalo, which is due to die overpolishing, and is usually considered a variety. This variety is a triumph of marketing over normal numismatic definitions.
I would add a couple things to this: 1) Die cracks/breaks are by no means restricted to the date area. They occur all over the coin. Frequently they originate from a point where the coin's devices intersect the fields. 2) The hardness of the planchets and the lack of metallurgical knowledge to prepare suitably hardened dies was exacerbated by the thickness of the shield nickel planchet. Shield nickel planchets have a small diameter than modern nickels but the same weight, so they are thicker and therefore harder to strike in a coin press. (This is why the diameter of the nickel was increased for the Liberty nickels.)
Of course, I can't see luster in a photo, and perhaps impaired luster is why ICG graded this coin MS60. Marks-wise, it looks awfully nice for a 60 to me. Also, if ICG thought the coin had an RPD, they almost certainly would have noted it on the holder.
Wow! Thanks sooooooooooo much Howards for this info! All makes perfect sense to me. I bought this coin several years ago, when I was still a little green or wet behind the ears when it comes to collecting. I think I was just getting into Error coins at the time. Sent all my stuff to ICG because of cost. Now I'm going back thru my coins to kinda thin the herd and generate some funds to by more shinny things. Think I'll save this one back. It's not a RPD but sure is a interesting coin now that I have more of a background on this type coin. I checked my spreadsheet and I only paid $7.50 and $10 for the slab. Again, thanks for all the info on this Howards and all. You Guys and Gals ROCK!!!!!!
howards, posted: "Of course, I can't see luster in a photo, and perhaps impaired luster is why ICG graded this coin MS60. Marks-wise, it looks awfully nice for a 60 to me. Also, if ICG thought the coin had an RPD, they almost certainly would have noted it on the holder." Looks a little under graded to me as a 60; however, IMO, the image of the OP's coin is blazing with luster!
Insider, here's full slab pics...I'm considering cracking it out and sending to PCGS as I have a voucher for my 4 freebies, what do think.
I would send any coin that you disagree with back to the grading service for a free (?) review. Based on our PM, I think the coin is an MS-61. If that is the case, the price of the coin will not change and you risk the chance of adding more grading fees from another TPGS while getting the same grade or lower. However, I expect a PCGS MS-60 or 61 would be easier to sell.
Thanks Insider, the only reason I'd send it to PCGS is, I have the voucher for 4 freebies, so I would not be adding any more cost. My thinking is....it's worth the risk, don't think it'll down grade and your right, it will be much easier to sell if I choose too. Thanks again for the PM and your time with this!
Hello my name is Ginnydare I have 2014 nickels that has several errors,can you guide me to a good coin collector? Thank you,Mrs v.Bishop
