...why is the 1883 V nickel with no "cents" of less value than the one with cents? There were about 11 million fewer minted with the "cents" missing. Whats up with that?
I beleive that because the "no cents" were replaced so quickly people hoardedf them thinking they would be worth something. They are easy to find in higher grades.
This question seems to pop up pretty regularly, but the concise answer is that it was heavily hoarded when it came out. I've seen hundreds of better grade examples of this coin while sorting for my auctioneer friend - and only a few really worn examples of the CENTS version. Does that help?
In support of what has already been said, a quick check of the NGC Census shows that 4,507 "No Cents" have been graded MS64 and higher while only 490 "Cents" have been graded MS64 and higher. (I don't have access to the PCGS Census.) Chris
Its a classic case of whatever the general public believes will be collectible generally won't be. The story was that a few of these got gold plated ans passed off as $5 gold pieces. The mint then added the word CENTS. Well, the media being the media, the whole story wasn't communicated well, and a lot of the general public just heard, "a V nickel without the word cents is worth $5". Therefor, nationwide people started pulling the first type from circulation and saving them. Because of that they are very common today, hence the low value. Chris
Exactly, everyone assumed they would be valuable so everyone saved them. As a result, they are common today and the value is low.
Yes sir, very much so. There are literally hundreds or thousands of stories like this in coin collecting. Having this knowledge is the difference between a true numismatist and just someone who writes checks. Plus, it just makes coin collecting SO much more interesting! A informed collector, (in my opinion), gets a lot more enjoyment out of the coins they own as an uninformed collector.
