1942 Proof Jefferson Nickel Type 1: Lucky Vs. Good.

About a week ago, I was shopping on ebay for nice examples of 1942 and 1942-D cupronickel Type 1 nickels. They were produced in more limited amounts before the Philadelphia and Denver Mints switched over to War Nickel production with the 35% silver alloy. It can be tough to find a nice example at a reasonable price.

I found one up for auction from a guy who was selling a bunch of random stuff. The coin was in an old flip, looked to be MS grade, and seemed to have at least half of the steps in good condition. It also had doubling on the collar line, which can be an indication of the FS-101 and 102 varieties. The pictures weren't that great, but for ten bucks I took a gamble. The flip was labeled Proof—although the auction description didn't say that—and I got a chuckle out of some n00b writing that, because everyone knows that 1942-1945 nickel proofs were only struck on war silver planchets. And before we continue:

<——- still a n00b

I got the coin today. It looked splendidly struck, zero circulation, full steps (minus a small hit). That's when I realized that the fields were too flat, the steps too perfect, and the rims too squared, to be a business strike. Sure enough, it's a 1942 type 1 proof. I hadn't even realized that was a thing until today.

Quite a buy for $10! I snapped a few quick pics. I didn't want to cut it out of the flip and put it into the axial box for photos, because I am scared of scratching it or otherwise damaging it.



Thus I have demonstrated the old chestnut: it is always better to be lucky than good.