Nickel & Penny Variety 1 1

[Halbrook Family]

I got my dansco books almost  complete on my nickels and I got a pretty good penny book going though I still need a decent number of the harder ones to get still. The red book lists many varieties and on this web site there is lots of varieties with pictures posted. I wanted to add a few of the varieties to my books that are somewhat inexpensive. Under say $25. Unslabbed coins. If I'm looking on ebay for them how can I tell if I'm really getting a decent variety? Everyone on there has a "rare" variety. The prices for them are far outside my budget. Lots are from people who really have no idea of what they are talking about. They have zero feedback. Obviously stay away from them. While some of the coin dealers ask huge amounts for them. Jefferson nickels has about 10 varieties listed in red book. This site lists 168 of them I think. How do I even tell the 1939 reverse of 1938? Is there a place for a explanation of what I'm looking for? Also a 1939 with reverse of 1940. In my dansco album there is some blank holes to fill and I'd just like some varieties. Wheat pennies has 189 and memorial has 128. I'm not trying to get them all just a small handful of them.Double punched mint marks would be nice. I see David Prince talk about varieties but I can't make heads or tails out of it. Maybe because I'm not collecting the same coins. 

[Mike Meenderink]

My advice: Only buy ANACS< PCGS< NGC< CACG certified, encapsulated coins when buying varieties, DDRs, DDOs, RPMs etc. The complete frenzy of wild west sellers online makes the chances of you being snookered very high. If you truly want examples of these coins make a tight list of the types of varieties that you are interested in and then focus on them. Make a concerted effort to obtain the highest graded certified specimens you can since condition still matters on these coins as well for future value or resale. Having the certified coins to study and use as a reference you can then eventually branch out into finding your own raw variety coins in the wild.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Mike Meenderink

[powermad5000]

We warned OP's (you) many times about dprince1138 (david prince) making not just a handful of incorrect variety attributions, but well over half and more like 75% or so, therefore, I personally would ask you to not refer to his posts or his comments.

While I understand you are seeking raw versions for album purposes, I suggest you study ones that fit your budget. Study. STUDY! Learn what die markers and attributes you need to look for. It is good that you are aware of the total scam sellers who latch onto a numismatic term and are totally incorrect. Avoid those. Avoid those that do not offer a return policy.

Mostly, you need to study the attributes of both sides of each coin for the appropriate die markers before making your purchase, and then properly inspect the coin upon arrival. ANYTHING not matching up or not matching up with the original photos in the listing, then simply return the coin.

While I agree with Mike that in the absence of the proper education and study of the variety you wish to purchase that you should purchase such said coin already attributed, this will be a more expensive affair and also you would have to be comfortable cutting the coin out of the slab to put in the album. I think with proper study, you could do what you intend by buying the coin raw.

And as in all cases, you could post pics of the listing here and ask on the forum here for opinions before you buy. Also, for this type of purchase, I would not participate in an auction for it. I would only buy one of these in a no pressure 'buy it now' circumstance.

[Halbrook Family]

Yes I do study each day. I look over the varieties good here on this site. I'd love to get one of those few nickels listed in the red book from the 40's or 50's but those are going to be hard. No I would never cut a coin from a slab. I don't own any slab coins but I would not do that. 

eBay has lots of things that are said to be varieties but lots of them I would not consider them to be.  My 2018 Red Book has the price of a 54s s over d ms60 at only $26 and the 55D  d over s at $36 for a ms60. 

 

Is this a s over s? 

[Halbrook Family]

[powermad5000]

I as well have a 2018 Redbook which I really should update, but I really don't use the price guide in it as it is too old. I use the price guide here, and if I need to I will also refer to the PCGS price guide.

If you are doing your due diligence on which variety you want, and as you are already seeing some that you declined, that is good. If it doesn't exactly fit the die markers or you see something else that doesn't make sense, then skip those. I don't think the ones you are looking for are super scarce so there will be others if you have to skip or decline on several of them. As always, buy from a seller that has a return policy. It should be a mantra : No returns, no deal.

Some of the guys on here will make it sound as if you can't find any good coins online which imho is just not true. It just takes a little work to sift out the garbage online. I don't think you have to worry about counterfeits for the ones you are looking for, but you do have to look out for a seller misattributing a variety, or calling something a variety when it is not (i.e. dprince1138).