| Author |
 Replies: 10 / Views: 197 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6819 Posts |
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.       |
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
103983 Posts |
That is a very nice Nickel Brand. Could be classified as 6FS. there is a circulation or bag mark going through the steps, but it didn't interrupt the steps.
|
|
Moderator
United States
193736 Posts |
My gut says chrome plating.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6819 Posts |
Keep in mind that image is under considerable magnification, made even larger on a screen. That tiny ding is barely visible as a slight undulation with a 3x loupe, and I don't think a 5x loupe would show it much better.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
77624 Posts |
Nice find! Looks great.   Errers and Varietys.
|
|
Moderator
United States
15797 Posts |
Thats a beautiful looking coin, but is it plated?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6819 Posts |
Plated is a thought. Mass is 4.94g. To me, it just looks like extreme mint luster. I believe if it were plated, the devices would not be so sharply defined, and thin features like the steps would be filled in.
Could a soak in a substance like MS70 generate this kind of finish?
|
|
Moderator
United States
193736 Posts |
Quote:
I believe if it were plated, the devices would not be so sharply defined, and thin features like the steps would be filled in. This has come up before. Plating is not painting. Plating can be really thin—from 0.1 to 2 μm—I believe anything in that range is thin enough to allow details to survive. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6819 Posts |
Then I suppose the question becomes, how would I detect a super thin layer of plating?
|
|
Moderator
United States
193736 Posts |
Perhaps eddy current testing or XRF? But I believe those depends on the quality and/or strength of the equipment.
Anything else I can think of is destructive so I will not mention them.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
8929 Posts |
Quote:
Then I suppose the question becomes, how would I detect a super thin layer of plating? Did you inspect the edges of the coin closely? Plating can be less than stellar in that area. That would be a great find if it makes MS-66 or better. I agree that it does have a peculiar look to it but would not think you would see the very fine flow lines around the date if it were plated. -makecents-
|
| |
Replies: 10 / Views: 197 |
|
Posted Yesterday 12:22 pm
