i found a couple nickels worth keeping while wrapping up a bag from our coin counter on thursday. one was a 44-D war nickel, which was in pretty poor shape and covered with what i am assuming is black paint. the other is the following, a 1940-D that was in surprisingly good shape for a circulation coin--it looks to even have 5 full steps. i was taking a closer look at it this evening, and i also noticed something odd about the rim on the obverse. from 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock, it appears the outside of the rim has been raised up, almost to give the rim a doubled appearance. this raised portion of the rim also corresponds with a slightly thicker edge than around the rest of the coin. is this some kind of pmd? also in the pictures of the obverse, you can see the odd coloration of the coin. this blotchy look is the same across the entire obverse. what would you consider this coin's condition- vf? xf? ....junk? to add: sorry about the picture quality. until i can afford a decent digital, i have to take pics with my blackberry, through a lighted loupe. hey, it's the best i can do!
oh! another bit of info. the coin looks to have dings (gouges?) in the edge at the "L" in liberty and just in front of the shirt collar. if anyone would like to see them, i will take pics and post them.
the reverse appears normal, except for one thing. on the "M" in unum, there appears to be something amiss. i don't know how to explain it very well, so here's a picture. i don't know if something was pressed into the coin, or if something has flaked off or what, but it seems to be some kind of slight depression into the coin.
I would agree, misaligned dies - nothing unusual. As for the reverse - looks like a small planchet flaw.
