2 Off-Metalliberty Head Nickels Or Struck On Foreign Planchet?

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,824
kyleg02247 Valued Member United States 84 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 08:45 am Hey Guys, I am wondering if there is anything strange going on with this 1912 Liberty nickel, and this 1897 Nickel. The 1912 weighs 4.77 Grams and the 1897 weighs 4.72 Grams. I know they both should weigh around 5.0 Grams with a Weight Tolerance + or - .194 Grams which would be between (4.806 - 5.194 GRAMS). Does this indicate that these may be both errors in some way and if it is worth sending in to be graded by a 3rd party grader? I realize the condition on both are very poor but Does that affect the weight really? Report this Post to the Staff

BigSilver Pillar of the Community United States 2843 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 09:30 am 1) 4.7 is very close to the minimum tolerance and the accuracy of any scale becomes a question at a minute difference. 2)The amount of wear on the coins can reduce the weight by a little bit. 3)I believe that the mint tolerances are just that. If they weighed every coin before it left the mint, they may have held those back. But they don't. The tolerance is a legal limit. There is no physical barrier to a coin escaping the mint below that weight. 4)The burden of proof would be on you to find a foreign planchet that the US was minting in 1897 that matches the coin better. In summation, I am pretty sure that these are both regular nickels. A 3rd party would be a huge waste of money. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 10:41 am Quote: 3)I believe that the mint tolerances are just that. If they weighed every coin before it left the mint, they may have held those back. But they don't. The tolerance is a legal limit. There is no physical barrier to a coin escaping the mint below that weight. For silver and gold coins they DID weigh each coin to make sure it was within tolerance. In the early years the weighing was done by hand but by the late 19th century they had automatic weighing machines. Report this Post to the Staff
Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 10:53 am Can't add much to what BigSilver has stated well. to the CCF! Edited by Coinfrog 08/24/2018 10:53 am Report this Post to the Staff
BigSilver Pillar of the Community United States 2843 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 11:11 am Quote: For silver and gold coins they DID weigh each coin to make sure it was within tolerance. In the early years the weighing was done by hand but by the late 19th century they had automatic weighing machines. I did not know that, thanks for sharing. Of course, being that this is a nickel, my point still stands, but the wording was certainly not correct. Report this Post to the Staff
ace_ftw Pillar of the Community Canada 1747 Posts	Posted 08/24/2018 11:16 am you could ask your LCS if they might have an XRF machine, or know of someone who does. this would be the true test to see if the metal is incorrect. most likely the planchet was on the lower end of the tolerance, and with wear it has moved well below. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 08/25/2018 5:34 pm The weights of the two coins are very slightly out of tolerance, and part of that is probably due to wear. But even if it is/was out of tolerance it is by such a small amount that it would not command any premium. As such it is definitely NOT worth sinking the $25 - $50 into getting it graded, plus the extra fee that would be require to have it labeled as a mint error, to end up with a coin still only worth a dollar or so. Report this Post to the Staff
JayLayton6969 New Member United States 16 Posts	Posted 02/19/2019 3:42 pm I just found and 1969d nickel that weighs 4.72 grams Report this Post to the Staff
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