Took a risk on a 1869 shield Nickel

[dooly]

Hi all what do you think it was one of them 1 in the morning BIN .. or possibly miss it decisions .. terrible photos but could possibly be something i have been looking for a long time.

 

sellers pictures .... Yes really

 

Do you think it has been dug up ?

 

 

[BillJones]

Sorry Dooly, but this 1869 nickel looks like it is badly corroded and a filler at best. While copper turns green or sometimes dull red when it corrodes, copper-nickel coins turn black and crusty. In this case “crusty” is not a good thing. This coin is a cull, and it’s not worth very much, probably less than a dollar.

 

And yes, it's been dug up or someone took to the seashore for a while I once put a nickel in my beach bag as an experiment. After a couple of summers it looked like your coin.

[dooly]

Sorry Dooly, but this 1869 nickel looks like it is badly corroded and a filler at best. While copper turns green or sometimes dull red when it corrodes, copper-nickel coins turn black and crusty. In this case “crusty” is not a good thing. This coin is a cull, and it’s not worth very much, probably less than a dollar.

 

And yes, it's been dug up or someone took to the seashore for a while I once put a nickel in my beach bag as an experiment. After a couple of summers it looked like your coin.

 

Cheers for the information Bill ..I have been a little naughty its not the date i was after .. got plenty 69's .. there is just the possibility of there being something special about this coin if one of the die cracks is where i think it is .. the condition would be nice if it was better .. but i could not probably afford it then

 

[johnny9434]

i agree with bill on what he said. bummer to

[Coinbuf]

Hope your gamble pays off, I know squat about this series so I'm guessing you think its a rare variety??

[skippy]

Looks like it could be a Missing Leaf. Hard to be sure from the photos - if there is a leaf there, it's a sliver.

 

Have to agree with the others regarding the corroded condition. Hope this was a low cost gamble.

 

The die crack I think I see (not sure about it) 2nd leaf cluster left doesn't match anything in my reference photos.

[skippy]

At least Dooly is giving us shield nickel enthusiasts something to talk about!!!

[dooly]

(thumbs u hope so .. the die crack i think i can see in the second picture is running up from the rim towards the bottom of the corner of the 1 .. possably like F-118 Missing leaf #3 and the date looks close enough to the ball .. yes it was cheap .. been told it was posted today .. so we will see

[skippy]

F-118 is possible, but I'm not confident. Date position looks okay. Fletcher has a later die stage photo than my reference, and it shows the die crack on the left of the date. But that crack looks like it may be at a steeper angle than on your coin. Let us know when you get the coin and send some good pictures.

[dooly]

Well it took an age to get here but finally it came this morning

 

Nothing wrong with my Cherrypicking eyes "my first WD 1869 missing leaf .. not sure if it is F-118 as the 8 looks to be a little further south than the one pictures in Flectcher.

 

 

 

[skippy]

'69 MLs are especially hard to find, so nice pick!

 

MLs are also especially hard (at least for me) to attribute. But I think this is F-118 - the matching die crack is a big clue.

 

 

[dooly]

Thanks Howard .. yes i can live with the condition as i may not get a chance of another for a long time