Is there a market for pre-1960 nickels?

[BuffaloBoy]

I've amassed several hundred dollars worth of pre-1960 nickels over the years of hunting and they have been taking up a lot of space. In the mix are only common pre-1960 nickels since I separated the key dates and semi key dates as well as any higher grade coins and put those aside.

Is there a market for common circulated pre 1960 Jefferson nickels? I don't want to mess with eBay or Craigslist and would prefer to unload them all at once. Or is my best bet to just dump the mix at my dump bank and cash out?
Thank you.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Mackaydon]

If you have separated (culled out) the key dates and semi key dates as well as the higher grade coins and put those aside,what 'meat have you left on the bone' for a potential next owner--other than face value?
Don........

 

[asrussell96]

You could try to go to a coin shop and see what they would offer

 

[BigWaveDave]

My Dad would take them, he's got a thing for nickels....face value , of course.
He is a tight wad.

 

[Zomotion]

I tried offer up for $60 worth of halves - nfic and circulated proofs and got a buyer for $75. I was happy for the very small profit.

I think there is a market for these types of coins to a collector just staring out or the collector who is willing to take a chance going thru some coins for a very small expense.

I think you'd have to mess with a craigslist or offer up type sight tho... Coin shop wouldn't offer anything I'd think.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

thanks, I am going to return them to the wild in the next week or two.

 

[smokeythecat]

I have kept some from the 30's and 40's. Not sure why. I have two complete books, will upgrade if possible, then back into the wild for the rest.

 

[galenrog]

There is indeed a market for older Jefferson Nickels. My sort, once I cull out what I want, is 1938-1949, war nicks, and 1950-1959. For a $100 face value bag I can typically get $150-$200 for 1938-1949 and $125-$175 for 1950-1959. I always have ads on Craigslist, and I post notices with local coin clubs. There is a little work here, and no one is going to beat a path to your door, but a market is there.

 

[GlenDronach]

I save any common pre 60 with all columns and the triangular roofline visible. That means I keep nickels in decent condition and keep the horde to a manageable amount.

I keep all pre 60's with a mintage of less than 30 million and keep the best of the others.

 

[jcole77]

Make sure you check the common dates for varieties first before you do anything else. I went through my 1941-S's recently, for example, and discovered I owned 8 (now 9) of the much scarcer "Large S" variety.

galenrog indeed is right. Common pre-60 nickels do have a market. 6-10 cents each sounds about right from what I've read here and in other forums.

The only ones I would ever think of throwing back would be the really common ones - 40, 41, 46, 54-D, 56-D, 57-D, 58-D and 59-D. I have 5 rolls or more of each of those dates.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

I honestly can't say that I've done extensive research on the matter, but from what I've noticed there is a very limited market, similar to NIFC halves and impaired proofs. For example, if 10 of us offered a few rolls for sale at ~2X face value, I'd expect 1-3 or us would sell our rolls while the others would not receive a single bid.

 

[port ewen ace]

recent sales (profit) on ebay for XF-AU/Jeffs:
38D-$1.89
42- $1.09
61- $1.09
62-$1.09
46- $.99
54S- $1.09
63- $1.09
51S- $1.09
60- $1.09
51D- $2.29
09P- $.99
55D- $1.19
40D- $1.09
09P- $1.09
39- $1.29
71S- $.99
50- $1.09
41- $4.99
38- $2.99
75- $1.09 ---------A BUCK in Jeffs sold for $29.60---seems there is a market. only super HQ with full details, many were held back for decades. sold a '57 Jeff that was FLAWLESS a few years back for $16, so if it appeals to your eye, it will appeal to a collectors' wallet. just my opinion :--)

I've amassed several hundred dollars worth of pre-1960 nickels over the years of hunting and they have been taking up a lot of space. In the mix are only common pre-1960 nickels since I separated the key dates and semi key dates as well as any higher grade coins and put those aside.

Is there a market for common circulated pre 1960 Jefferson nickels? I don't want to mess with eBay or Craigslist and would prefer to unload them all at once. Or is my best bet to just dump the mix at my dump bank and cash out?
Thank you.

 

[Jajo]

Hi BuffaloBoy, I used to think that there was no market for them either, but my local coin shop does buy pre 60 nickels as long as they are not a green or sticky, for 6 cents each, I know it not much, but if you really have $300 face value in pre 60 nickels, a coin shop could buy those from you for a 60 dollar profit, which is not bad in my opinion, if your looking through nickels anyway and you don't want those for your personal collection, just pull them out and do something similar to what I do.

 

[jcole77]

recent sales (profit) on ebay for XF-AU/Jeffs:
38D-$1.89
42- $1.09
61- $1.09
62-$1.09
46- $.99
54S- $1.09
63- $1.09
51S- $1.09
60- $1.09
51D- $2.29
09P- $.99
55D- $1.19
40D- $1.09
09P- $1.09
39- $1.29
71S- $.99
50- $1.09
41- $4.99
38- $2.99
75- $1.09 ---------A BUCK in Jeffs sold for $29.60---seems there is a market. only super HQ with full details, many were held back for decades. sold a '57 Jeff that was FLAWLESS a few years back for $16, so if it appeals to your eye, it will appeal to a collectors' wallet. just my opinion :--)

Nice. I'm dabbling in putting up some nicer nickels too. Unc 82 and 83 dated coins also seem to do well. War Nickels also do very well for me. I've got a bunch of high grade nickels starting from 1968 in a jar... Am going to start selling them soon.

 

[mxh5891]

There is a market for everything. As you can see from Port Ewan ace's post though, dont expect to get rich selling them. You would make more money working at McDonalds then CRH for pre 60's nickels.

 

[jcole77]

There is a market for everything. As you can see from Port Ewan ace's post though, dont expect to get rich selling them. You would make more money working at McDonalds then CRH for pre 60's nickels.

But CRH is a lot more fun...

 

[Jack_MIghtyheart]

I've got the same problem, I've amassed a ton of pre60 nickels and don't really know what to do with them. Someone told me that they fill up Whitman folders and sell them on ebay and make a little profit. I've considered sorting them by date and selling full rolls, too, but it would be extremely time consuming. Still something to consider, though.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

I had intentions of doing the same thing Jack but like you said it is extremely time consuming. I just don't have enough free time to do so otherwise I would. I am dumping $300+ worth of pre-1960 nickels into circulation in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Jajo]

Well Let's see if anyones pre 60 nickel rates go up, keep better dates like 49S, 50 P and D, 51S, 55P, 42D and pre 40 jeffersons.

 

[Chizzy]

My LCS will pay 1 cent over face for pre 1960 Jefferson nickels so long as there is no rim damage...........