Jefferson War Nickel, 1944-S, MS-67+

Generally not a good idea to tag a new topic on top of an older thread - they tend to get less attention. People who already responded to the old thread (like me) do not go back to look for new input such as yours.

Marve65 speaks the truth, the TPG are notorious for inconsistent application of the FS designation on Jefferson nickels. You simply cannot rely upon the slab alone.

That said - why not pursue both high technical grade and FS at the same time? IMO that is the best long term value combination.

Over a period of about 5 years I was able to assemble a top-10 PCGS Registry set of Jefferson War Nickels by personally examining and selecting each coin from dealers stock at shows.

Each coin met my personal standards for grade, eye appeal and FS.

Here is the 1944-S from that set:






Great Collections eventually sold the 11 coin set for me at a nice profit from what I paid.

Good discussion. This is some of what I am thinking. What I note, and @nickelsearcher's MS67FS is a good example, is that San Francisco in general had a weaker strike than P or especially D versions of the same year (say 1944) on the stairs, but also the entire facing side of the Jefferson Memorial (especially under the triangular roof vestibule). If your thing is FS, then I would look more for D or P examples, but I can understand if you want a complete set you need an S also. But even if the S is designated FS, the doors/windows on the front face of the Memorial are likely going to be weaker than D or P examples. The FS designation only covers part of the issue (San Francisco mint overall was producing a lesser example of the design than other mints), and that is part of what collecting coins is about- distinguishing not only between coin designs, but Mints, Periods (e.g., War Period- switch alloy), even dies if you want to get that detailed. Here is the coin I got, and for a 1944-S, I am pretty happy with it. I found the GC entry after I bought, and did pay an upscale, but it was reasonable. The center stairs in @nickelsearcher's 67FS are definitely better defined (not the left side set for instance), but the overall front section of the Memorial is similar to my 67+, and both are less defined than many Denver examples (or P). Regardless, I understand the idea of a premium for full stairs even on a 1944-S, but think for San Francisco in general (at least in 1944) it is actually less significant to the overall grade (and obviously the TPG feel the same).

This one has nice light toning and a lot of original mint luster still.