Jefferson Again

Nice coin ...

I grade MS63 and alas not FS.

There is some great information out there on how to judge FS Jefferson ... google can be your friend.

I base my not FS opinion on the lower two steps ... the half portion to the right of Monticello as shown in your photos ... these are mush with no detail at all.

That said ... any MS 1973-D with significant step detail is a nice coin ... so well found however you came upon it.

Excellent detail photos as well.

David

This site describes FS in detail:
http://varietynickels.com/pages/jef...ll-steps.php

There are technically 6 steps, but almost all nickels have 5 after being minted.
NGC and PCGS have their own grading for it and NGC does recognize 6 steps if found, but you only need 5 complete steps to be a FS. A small cut or nick won't affect it, but a large one or merged steps will prevent it from being FS.

Keep your eyes peeled and you'll find some. I manage to find most of mine from only 3-5 years old at the most. Once in a while, much older. Take a look at some mint sets (not from 2004-5 though) to get a better feel of what one will look like.

In 2006 they improved the buildings design, so it should look sharper than the 2003 and earlier ones.

Yours is definitely not a FS, since there are large nicks and merged steps.