Striking 1993-P Jefferson Nickel, 6FS.

I found this nickel last night in a machine-wrapped Loomis roll from my local credit union. All the other coins in the roll were normal, and most had the grime and wear of city miles.

The gleam on this nickel is so intense that I thought it was a ruined proof. I have never seen a 1990s nickel in such pristine and glossy condition, not even in original mint cello from uncirculated sets. The steps are 100% complete and super deep—again, like a proof and unlike the thin, shallow lines on mid-1990s nickels. The devices are tiny and sharp, so it has to be very early die state and quite likely an early hub from the master die.

I have no idea how the coin survived in this condition after getting dumped into a giant Coin Wrapping Machine at a Loomis facility, or why it is so nice in the first place! I paged around, but there were no special strikes or other oddities in Philadelphia that year for nickels.

There were some other oddities in that $40 of Loomis rolls, including a high AU or possibly MS 1946 nickel and an almost certainly MS 1960-D nickel. So maybe an album or collection dump, but again, from a processing facility? Just strange.

The 1993 nickel is placed next to a brand new 2025 nickel so the contrast can be seen.