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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
2773 Posts |
 Posted - 09/29/2008 : 23:58:06
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The question of what to look for when searching nickels comes up regularly. I will attempt to recap the group's collective wisdom here.
In the US and Canada you will get some mix of US, Canada, and misc. International coins. The percentages will vary depending on where you are. In the US, expect more Canadian nickels if you are closer to the border. The same advice applies regardless of which side of the border, only your percentages will vary. (Composition in brackets)
Worth Saving for Collector Value:
American
1913–1938 Indian Head/Buffalo nickel (CuNi)
1939-1942 Jefferson (CuNi)
1946-1963 Jefferson (CuNi)
Anything with an "S" mint mark
Canadian
1922-1936 Maple Leaf Design (99.9% nickel)
1937-1942 Beaver/King Design (99.9% nickel)
1942-1943 12-sided Beaver/Victory WWII (tombac=copper/zinc)
1944-1945 Victory WWII (chrome-plated steel)
1946–1950 Beaver 12-sided (99.9% nickel)
1951 only 200th Anniversery Discover of Nickel (99.9% nickel)
1951–1954 Beaver 12-sided Korean war era (chrome-plated steel)
1955–1962 12-sided (99.9% nickel)
2000P Beaver (nickel plated steel)
Any International coin for the fun of collecting/trading
In most cases the collector value would be a few cents premium, but likely more then the bullion value.
Worth Saving for Bullion Value:
American
1942-1945 "War Nickels" (35% silver, large mintmark above Monticello)
Potentially ALL American Nickels as the 75% Copper/25% (CuNi) Nickel has usually been worth more in metal value then face value since 2006
Canadian
1963-1981 Beaver (99.9% Ni)
Potentially 1982-1999 and some 2000-2006 Canadian Nickels as the 75% Copper/25% Nickel (CuNi) has usually been worth more in metal value then face value since 2006.
No Point Collecting:
Some Canadian Nickels starting in 2000 (P or logo mint mark below the queen) and all from 2007 on made from nickel plated steel with minimal intrinsic metal value. The 2000P is fairly rare and may be collectable.
Check Coinflation.com and Coinflation.com/canada for the current intrinsic values of these coins.
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"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci
How to Invest in Copper Bars ~~~How to Invest in Copper Bullion at A Steep Discount~~~How to Invest in Physical Nickel~~~How to Follow Gresham's Law |
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cwgii
Penny Collector Member
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 21:17:56
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just joined today, read about some folks doing nickels. i had striped my bank of halves an pennies . so tonight i took 100 in nickels. very first roll, a dateless buff and a 20 something--aluminum?
thanks |
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Nickelless
Moderator
USA
4362 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 22:52:24
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quote:
Originally posted by cwgii
just joined today, read about some folks doing nickels. i had striped my bank of halves an pennies . so tonight i took 100 in nickels. very first roll, a dateless buff and a 20 something--aluminum?
thanks
Glad you joined us over here and glad I could refer you to the site! I think you'll enjoy this site a lot. |
Be prepared...and prepared to help: http://www.survivalblog.com/charity.html
Are you ready spiritually for hard times? http://www.posttribrapture.com |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
2773 Posts |
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cwgii
Penny Collector Member
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2008 : 02:04:14
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i would like to ask about the 'ones to save'.... you mentioned ''anything with an 's''. i looked on wiki , just to see what they had to say. would it make any sence to save the 1968 -1970. seems the production was low enough to justify. and or some type of 'short set' of the 68,70 denver and sanfran. ?
that $100 had two 'beavers', a '66 and '68.... is it worth putting them aside as a potential , beaver cu roll?
the mystery coin i believe to be a 20 franc. Confœderatio Helvetica 1991 is on one side. the 20 in a wreath of leaves on the other side.
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
2773 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2008 : 02:23:36
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I'm no expert on US nickels - so I'm going to let someone else answer about the S mints.
Your beavers up to 1981 are composed of 99.99% Pure Nickel - my primary target in Canada (see first post for breakdown). Nickel is down right now with everything else, but those pure nickel beavers have been selling as high as 20 cents each, lately at 10 cents each in quantity.
There is no US pure nickel coin to hunt - all the US nickels are 75%Copper/25%Nickel = "CuNi" and are worth less then those Canadian pure nickel coins.
Your 20 franc. Confœderatio Helvetica is from Switzerland = officially the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica in Latin. Latin is used on the coins as a neutral language representing country given its tetralingual populace. It is the only franc still in use in Europe as the others have been replaced by the Euro. Official currency of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. That coin is worth about 17 cents at current exchange rates - was more then 20 cents US before the US dollar started rising in the current crisis.
Nice find, I've found several of them myself. Worth more then a nickel anyway. |
"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci
How to Invest in Copper Bars ~~~How to Invest in Copper Bullion at A Steep Discount~~~How to Invest in Physical Nickel~~~How to Follow Gresham's Law |
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marklarpants
Penny Sorter Member
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 17:00:21
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1946-1963 Jefferson (CuNi)
what's the reason for these? i noticed going through $16 worth there were alot of 64's but few under that. |
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MnLuke
New Member
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 18:58:39
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Sorting nickels is like any other coins “it’s all about what you are looking for”. I like to use what I call the “step rule”. I check the back of the coin and look for the steps on the building. On a newer nickel you can see that Monticello building has 5 steps the longer that coin is circulated those steps will go away. It’s hard to find a coin earlier that 1970 with any steps but when I do I keep it (if it’s not to beat up). Now 1964 nickels are a different story, nickels dated 1964 were still being minted well into 1966 contributing to their very high mintages (just below 3 billion) so that is why you find so many. Pre 1964 nickels are hard to come by and have actually gone up in value almost double in the past year so that is why most people keep them. Some dealer are selling nickels from 51-59 for about .60 and more as you go back in time not including key dates like a 1950-D.
The main reason I keep a pre 64 is they are fun to find.
Something that is not posted but I do is keep all 1982, 1983, and 1986 nickels that make the step rule (2 steps are all I need to be a keeper). The reason I keep these are due to their high value in the red book in hopes that in 20 years they will be a key date. I’m not really sure why, maybe someone could help me with that one.
I hope this helps. “happy hunting”
Luke
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Something for nothing would be “nice” |
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Cerulean
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 13:28:46
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I wouldn't bother saving S-mintmarked US nickels dated 1968-1970. Those are very common, as San Francisco took over Philly's nickel minting duties during those years.
I personally save all Jefferson nickels I find dated at fifty years ago or older, but that's just for potential future numismatic value. The market for plain old Jefferson nickels is still in its infancy. |
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gothboi30
Penny Pincher Member
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - 11/19/2008 : 20:14:02
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| I found 4 '70 s mints and 3 '69 s mints in the box I just finished sorting tonight. I kept all '63 and earlier, all s mints, and all 2005 buffalo and westward journey. Anyone collect the "new" buffalos and/or westward journey? |
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Sunshine29
Penny Sorter Member
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - 11/22/2008 : 14:16:49
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I've had some luck with rolls of Jeff nickels with some from the 40's and 50's (no silver ones yet). However, I have been saving all Jeff nickels with hopes Ni will go back up. Is that even worth the trouble? Good questions gothboi--I wonder about the buffalo and westward journey nics. Any value there besides metal?
Thanks everyone for this very useful information. |
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AGgressive Metal
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
789 Posts |
Posted - 12/16/2008 : 16:54:45
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"the mystery coin i believe to be a 20 franc. Confœderatio Helvetica 1991 is on one side. the 20 in a wreath of leaves on the other side."
That is 20 Rappen, or 20/100ths of a Franc, same as our cent. Swiss franc is trading at 1.12 to the dollar today, so your coin is worth roughly 17 cents.
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And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe hit wel / For nothyng is better than lyberte / For lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold and syluer of all the world.
-Caxton's edition of Aesop's Fables, 1484
http://www.randpaul2010.com/ |
Edited by - AGgressive Metal on 12/16/2008 16:57:38 |
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Computer Jones
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2008 : 23:56:51
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I got a Canuk Nickle in change today.
It's in extremely nice condition.
It has a crownless mature Queen on the face with a smallish P under her.
1945 and 2005 on the reverse, a big Roman V with a torch (Olympic?) in the middle of the V.
It does not stick to a magnet.
Can anybody enlighten me to the composition?
Is this some sort of special coin from our Great White Neighbor to the North?
I'm used to just finding a Beaver on the Canuk-A-Nickle.
Thanks for any help. |
There's profit if you melt things!!
8{> |
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JP_007
Penny Sorter Member
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2009 : 16:07:30
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quote:
Originally posted by gothboi30
I found 4 '70 s mints and 3 '69 s mints in the box I just finished sorting tonight. I kept all '63 and earlier, all s mints, and all 2005 buffalo and westward journey. Anyone collect the "new" buffalos and/or westward journey?
I purchased some of the mint wrapped rolls secondhand for the buffalo and 2006 return nickels....if your interested in collecting these I would definitly recomend checking them out. |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
2773 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2009 : 03:30:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Computer Jones
I got a Canuk Nickle in change today.
It's in extremely nice condition.
It has a crownless mature Queen on the face with a smallish P under her.
1945 and 2005 on the reverse, a big Roman V with a torch (Olympic?) in the middle of the V.
It does not stick to a magnet.
Can anybody enlighten me to the composition?
Is this some sort of special coin from our Great White Neighbor to the North?
I'm used to just finding a Beaver on the Canuk-A-Nickle.
Thanks for any help.
These are fairly common but interesting nickels. The double date celebrates the 60th anniversery of Victory in Europe (end of WWII). The V is for Victory (think Churchill) and the Roman numeral 5 for five cents. The P on the face tells us it is Plated steel - the RCM's greatest invention to listen to their tour guides.
The design harkens back to the 1943-1945 V designs that were created to encourage Victory in WWII. Those 12 sided coins were actually first made from tombec and then chrome-plated steel to preserve nickel for use in making armor for tanks etc. The twelve sides were designed to make tombec nickels stand out from similarly colored pennies (and continued for years because the design was popular). The denticles on those war coins spell "we win when we work willingly" in morse code, with morse code also being important to the war effort. Sadly the mint did not carry over the 12 sided design or the morse code to the 2006 version of the nickel. |
"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci
How to Invest in Copper Bars ~~~How to Invest in Copper Bullion at A Steep Discount~~~How to Invest in Physical Nickel~~~How to Follow Gresham's Law |
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Computer Jones
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2009 : 11:28:28
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quote:
Originally posted by legacypac
The P on the face tells us it is Plated steel - the RCM's greatest invention to listen to their tour guides.
Thank you for the info and history!
I still wonder why it won't stick to a magnet, plated stainless maybe? |
There's profit if you melt things!!
8{> |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
2773 Posts |
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Computer Jones
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
960 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2009 : 12:58:56
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quote:
Originally posted by legacypac
Try a stronger magnet - it should definitely stick to a magnet. Could be CuNi but I've never seen a CuNi 2006 Nickel.
10-4 with my stack of hard drive magnets, it's plated steel.
So much for my wild fantasy of finding something rare (at least for today).
I'm going to need to toss the little button one I have in the glove compartment for checking.
The funny thing is I decided to carry the little button because everything Fe-ish would jump to my hard drive magnet, not to mention, it was so difficult to remove from a flat surface.
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There's profit if you melt things!!
8{> |
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Musenge
New Member
Colombia
5 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2009 : 21:38:40
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| Hi. I'm a newbie member of the forum, and i have some questions. I'm very interested in the coin hoarding, but in my country (Colombia) i have 2 choices: the $20 pesos coin, with a composition of 70% Cu and 30% Ni; or the $100 pesos coin, with 92% Cu, 6% Al and 2% Ni. These coins worth the hoarding? Can I extract the Cu and Ni? Thanks, and excuse my poor english. |
Recycling and investing is life!!! The rest is just details... |
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Mikep2020
Penny Pincher Member
USA
203 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2009 : 07:43:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Musenge
Hi. I'm a newbie member of the forum, and i have some questions. I'm very interested in the coin hoarding, but in my country (Colombia) i have 2 choices: the $20 pesos coin, with a composition of 70% Cu and 30% Ni; or the $100 pesos coin, with 92% Cu, 6% Al and 2% Ni. These coins worth the hoarding? Can I extract the Cu and Ni? Thanks, and excuse my poor english.
The 20 Peso coin is 2 grams - 70% Cu (1.4g) and 30% Zinc (.6g)
Face value is .89 Cents in US dollars (less than a cent!)
Metal value is approx:
1.4 grams copper = .66 cents
.6 grams zinc = .0935 cents
Total 20 peso coin melt value = .75 cents or 84% of the face value
In my post in the other thread, I went though the 100 peso coin melt value as being around 55% of the face value.
100 Peso coin Face value = Approx. 4.5 cents
100 Peso Coin melt value = Approx. 2.5 cents
So right now, you are better off saving all the 20 peso coins you come across since the melt value will exceed the face value faster than the 100 peso coin. I hope this helps! |
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Nickel Sorting - What to Look For
