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 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,631 |
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New Member
United States
43 Posts |
Hello!
I found this 1968 S nickel in a roll a week ago and popped it in my book. It's gorgeous so I assume(d) someone broke open a proof set and spent it. Well I am newly returning to collecting and really don't remember any junk about full steps, etc from back in the day but it seems to be all the rage these days. I decided to take a look at this fella and sure enough the steps are pretty distinct, etc.
Anyway I got a little flustered (not the first time) and gently popped it out of the book and put it in one of the soft plastic thing-a-ma-jigs. I googled a bit hoping not to bother you all but I'm as confused as ever. I even saw another thread on here with someone in a similar predicament. What exactly is the deal? There's no concrete way of knowing if it is proof vs circulation? Just have to kind of look at the rim and the luster and make a judgment call?
More importantly: Does it make a difference if its circulation strike or proof to be big dollar coin? I have a mint set upstairs I'll smash apart in a second ;) In the other thread I read about this it said something like 1 in 500 proofs will have FS. That's good right?
I know pictures, pictures...I'm trying but this is tough to get a clear image of. Magnifying glass definitely looks awesome though :)
Thanks so much in advance for any words of clarification :) Let's just pretend this is an "in theory" question: If one was to find a proof 68S FS what kind of dough would that sucker bring in ;) Enough to get a slabbed 1909 SVDB? In theory?
*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***
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Valued Member
United States
406 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
73844 Posts |
  We'll be able to help you if you get pictures. Errers and Varietys.
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New Member
 United States
43 Posts |
I know I know...I will try and use scanner tomorrow and post pics...Like I said I am pretty sure it's a proof...So just to get the ball rolling: There's a difference in value for this coin if it's proof vs circulation, correct? If so, is proof version nothing to get excited over? I mean does every mint set have this same well struck nickel in it?
Pics tomorrow!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1609 Posts |
Any proof found in circulation is called an impaired proof. It probably has not much value (maybe 10-15 cents or so) but still, it's a great find in a roll.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
In general, I would say modern proofs should be full steps and aren't assigned the FS superlative. If it is a proof, it wouldn't be worth much considering it was in a roll and is now an impaired proof. You'd be a lot better off if you found a high grade business strike with full steps. If it could garner an MS64FS grade, then you've done very well. Without FS, it would have to be at least MS67 to be a major score.  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
Every coin is an individual. They can be all sorts of grades even in proof sets and more so in mint sets. Whatever you have is what it is. One coin out of a set is not equal to another. When you do scan your image, crop it and make it clear enough for us to see and make sure it is under 300kb. Otherwise all your effort will be for nothing.  to CCF too! Good luck with your nickel. I am a fan of the tougher ones and if yours isn't a proof and has steps and in mint state condition, it could be a good one for sure. The 68S proof is pretty common but I am betting you have a 68S circulation issue. They are not the same. |
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New Member
United States
43 Posts |
Thanks guys for all the input! I'll try and get some pics together...didn't have a lot of luck last time I tried but I will tinker with settings some more :)
And I guess what I'm asking is: If you have an MS63 FS circulation and an MS63 FS proof, what's the difference in price? Not exact prices but ballpark. Would circulation be worth 10 times the proof? Double? Are they the same?
Thanks again! This place is really awesome...I learn so much just reading random topics...That's how I found out about FS in the first place :)
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
There would be a big difference as the MS 1968 S is very scarce to rare with full steps.
The proofs from those years are very common. You can get a 1968 proof nickel for a buck in better than PR63.
Much tougher to get a MS63 FS Jefferson and without looking, I would bet it would be over 25 bucks just to start.
But then we will discuss full steps later. I bet we will.
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New Member
United States
43 Posts |
The MS63 proof is common with full steps? Or just common in MS63. That's what I'm trying to find out: If proofs commonly have FS then I'm pretty much done ;)
If proofs don't commonly have FS then I guess I have to figure out if this actually has them. That seems to be a whole other thing ;)
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
I would suggest that you do a search on ebay for closed sales for the date and mint mark you are learning about. You will have examples of what the TPG's consider to be FS, and you will be better able to compare your coin in hand with dozens of examples. I would further filter the results from lowest to highest prices, so you can get a more immediate answer to your value questions. Keep in mind that 99% of us, when we start out, assume the very best about every coin we encounter. With experience it will be easier to justify the potential truth of our optimism. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
Please post the coin, proof or not, it would be an educational exercise for all of us. Some proofs do not have full steps. Generally they do but there are exceptions. Some Jefferson nickels minted for circulation are very scarce or rare with full steps. I can name a few and yours could easily be one of them. 52S 53S 54S 60D 61D 62D 63D 64D 68D 68S 69D 69S 70D 70S to name the most difficult off the top of my head. Even with some steps, they are desirable in MS. When you post your image, we can probably explain how to tell the difference between a proof and regular coin intended for circulation. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7187 Posts |
Cool find, I found a 1969 s impaired proof last week.
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New Member
United States
43 Posts |
Not able to use scanner today but took these iPhone pics last night. They are crap and only of the reverse. I will try and get high res scan of entire coin but hoping these images are good enough to determine the state of the steps (got a feeling they arent...) Thanks again guys for all the great advice and patience :) Jason   Edited by Mrjason71
08/30/2017 11:48 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
No doubt, that's a proof.
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New Member
United States
43 Posts |
Is it the glossy surface? Rim? Both?
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Replies: 16 / Views: 3,631 |
Posted 08/29/2017 9:44 pm
