2000-P Jefferson Nickel- Finish?

This would account for all the marks on the surface of the coin.

Hi,

kabiye lady,

Actually, quite the opposite. Nickel is extremely hard.

The reasons for full steps has more to do with worn dies than anything else.

Thanks,
Bill

Hi,

The planchets for the five-cent pieces are so hard that they damage the dies. They are actually more copper (.750) than nickel (.250) but the alloy is incredibly hard.

Ultimately even coins that are considered Uncirculated can look awful because the constant striking of such a hard material wrecks the dies. Coins that are struck by worn dies look terrible.

This has been a known problem for at least 120 years with respect to striking US five-cent pieces. If you've looked at enough coins, you would also see the same thing on Quarter Dollars, Half dollars and Dimes that are made of the Nickel-clad composition.

Once in circulation, There are all kinds of things that can scratch coins and cause wear...it still doesn't negate the fact that the alloy used is extremely hard and not at all considered soft.

I am not going into all the details of the modification of dies over the years in the Jefferson nickel series but basically year by year until new master hubs are made, the master dies looked worse and worse. Hence the working hubs and dies looked worse and worse. That is why most nickels from the mid fifties to the early sixties look like junk. The dies used struck coins that basically looked worn as soon as they left the die.

In the past, nickels were one of the "workhorse" denominations. They circulated heavily and became very beat up in appearance.

Inflation being what it has been over the past 20 years has changed that but nickels often look beat for many different reasons.

Still, the premise that the alloy used for nickels is "Very Soft" is way off.

I never post guesswork unless I say it is a guess. Otherwise I stick to facts that can be backed up.

To answer your last point, nickels being hard, when circulated will often keep the gashes and nicks. Cents being a softer alloy will wear more quickly and evenly, smoothing out most of the gashes over time.

When you have a few minutes, read he following page. It was written by someone els and cites sources. It's on a website pertaining to full step Jefferson nickels.

http://fullstepjeffersonnickels.com...el_info.html

Thanks,
Bill