1958 d nickel error

[Hinkle]

Somebody told me if something like this is silver it would tarnish and look black on the coin. Could this have silver or did someone purposely do this. What's  your thoughts. Because 1943 to 1945 has silver. 

[Mohawk]

Hi Hinkle,

Well.....I'm certain your coin does not have silver.  First off, there are 13 years separating your coin from the last intentional striking of silver war nickels in 1945.  While there are some 1946 dated Jeffersons that were erroneously struck on leftover war nickel planchets, any of those would be long gone by 1958.  Secondly, I've seen many Jefferson Nickels that have the exact look that your coin does, which is caused by environmental damage.  While the nickel portion of the US nickel alloy is some tough stuff, it is only 25% of the total composition of the coin.  The remaining 75% is copper, which is highly reactive and prone to developing environmental damge.  I'd say you coin is just showing the ravages of six decades of circulation.

Better luck next time!

~Tom

[Greenstang]

Just looks like environmental damage. Maybe it was buried for awhile.

Easy to check though, just put a magnet to it.  If it sticks, its Nickel. If it doesn't, its Silver.

[Mohawk]

7 minutes ago, Greenstang said:

Just looks like environmental damage. Maybe it was buried for awhile.

Easy to check though, just put a magnet to it.  If it sticks, its Nickel. If it doesn't, its Silver.

That doesn't work with Jefferson nickels.  There's too much copper in the alloy so they're not magnetic.  That test does work with 1968 Canadian dimes and quarters though.

[DWLange]

It's just an ordinary nickel that was likely found in the ground with a metal detector. That color is from soil encrustation.

[jgrinz]

On 5/3/2019 at 10:34 AM, DWLange said:

It's just an ordinary nickel that was likely found in the ground with a metal detector. That color is from soil encrustation.

Darn beat me to it … Way to go Dee Double-ya'