the Pre 64 nickle incident

[dirtlooter]

before joining this forum, I was ignorant of the war nickles having silver in them, I just assumed that all nickles were nickle. Of course we know that 64 was the last year for silver in most coins, being replaced by what we call clad now. Back in the early 80's, two elderly men, Fred and John were traders, mainly with firearms but with anything they could make a buck on. they had been friends for years but a trade between them had led to some hard words and they no longer spoke. Fred had acquired a certain firearm that he knew John had been hoping for for years and in short order, had John chomping at the bit. Fred was asking quite a bit for the gun and John had only one decent firearm at the moment to trade with and it was a little short, about a $150 short. Fred knew that he had John over a barrel but then John pulled out this mason jar full of nickles and told Fred that it was full of pre 64 nickles... pre 64 nickles! Instantly Fred began seeing the dollar signs flashing before him and immediately agreed to the trade and the happy John quickly took off with his prize in hand. Fred was beaming with excitement as he turned to us and informed us that he had just made a killing with the jar of pre 64 nickles! With a puzzled look, I looked over to AJ our mutual friend, the owner of the sporting goods store who grinned and gave me a wink as he asked Fred, "Fred, why do they call a nickle a nickle?" Fred was staring into the jar, figuring how much silver there had to be in it and smugly answered, "because it is five cents." AJ grinned as he glanced back to me and asked again, "No Fred, why do they call a nickle a nickle?" Fred looks up at AJ like he is stupid and answers "because it is made of nickle....OOHHH CRAP! That blanky blank blank!" they never spoke to each other ever again but John got the gun he had always wanted. Fred's greed got the best of him and we got a good laugh as he stormed out.

 

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[CincinnatiKid]

Great story dirtlooter.
A few years ago and at the time being new to metal detecting, I took a dump truck full of construction debris to a local land fill. I arrived at area for dumping. So, as always, I exit truck to check ground for nails. (Tires are $450 each).
I notice a small overturned desk. One drawer had opened when dropped revealing pens, pencils, crayons, etc. I then notice a small bag of coins! I had to take a look... All were nickles. Oh well, I think, throw 'em cab and forget about 'em til I get home.
I then take a closer look and the bag is marked "special nickels? I removed coins from bag. Each nickel was early 1940s? Cool, I think, rinse them and throw all ina tupperware bowl and forget about 'em again.
Later that week, I was watching a Ytube vid and "war nickel" was mentioned. Hmmmm!?
Long story short, bag contained 35 war nickels. All were in good condition. The best was a 1943 stamped over 1942 in EF condition!
Needless to say, I examine all coins ' fore they end up in the Coinstar machine.
Thanks for the read
Peace

 

[Massieville Mike]

Enjoyed reading your story dirtlooter!