1902 V Nickel

What a neat find! That must have been awesome as a kid to come across those coins, esp. given their age!

Per the 2010 Red Book, a grade of F12 FINE would be "All letters in LIBERTY legible." If you don't already have one, perhaps you should consider getting a copy.

Curious, was this the Depot Beach in Charlevoix?

- CheetahCats

Grade? Maybe Corroded, Net Fine.

Price? Under the circumstances, I think this coin's value is incalculable.

Cool find! That must have been neat to come across as a kid. By coincidence I just found a 1906 Liberty nickel yesterday at the beach. I had a little more help finding it than you did though as I was using a metal detector! I'd highly recommend getting a detector if you want to search that area again.

SD,
No, I'm in Monterey, California. Monterey has been a popular seaside tourist spot for a really long time (by west coast standards). A couple weeks ago we had major storms that caused a lot of beach erosion, revealing coins lost long ago. On a whim yesterday I checked a small, very sheltered beach that turned out to have been eroded during that storm but apparently no one bothered to check. Also found a 1917 LWC there, but it is so worn I'm not sure it has any numismatic value left.

One advantage you have on me is that your beaches are freshwater and you don't have major wave action. Salt water is not a coin's best friend, and wave action can really wear down a coin. If you get back into detecting I'd recommend keeping an eye out for major storms that will erode your beaches. They strip down years of sand revealing coins that have been too deep to find for decades.

If you need some more motivation, I only started metal detecting about a month ago. In that time I found the aforementioned Liberty nickel, two Buffalo nickels, a silver Rosie, a 1907 Barber dime, and a 1929 Standing Liberty quarter. Besides that I've found silver earrings and chains. In addition I've found 10 rings, one of which was a gold band, another was a platinum band, and the third was a platinum and diamond ring. I met a guy that found a 1870 CC quarter a few months ago. He sold it on ebay for $6,000! You have to be ready for hours and days of digging junk, with clad being the best finds of the day. But occasionally finding jewelry and old coins makes it worthwhile. It really is just about the only way to get old coins for free other than maybe roll searching.

If you decide to get back into detecting I'd recommend finding a metal detecting forum in the same vein as this forum is with coins. I started out with a good beginner's machine but am now looking to upgrade (so I can find deeper coins) and the advice I get there is really helping me focus in on my next detector.

Edit: It just occurred to me that the "SD" in your name means San Diego! The mention of Oceanside tipped me off. By all means get out there and detect as you are in one of the best areas of the country for it! SoCal is FANTASTIC for finding jewelry. You will find old coins as well of course, but down there your water is warm enough that people regularly go swimming in the ocean. Up here it is still too cool for most people. You can always sell the jewelry you find to buy coins!