Top ten hardest nickels to find

[Immy]

Coins these days are minted in the billions (If I never see another 1964D I'll be happy!). I've always considered that anything with a mintage under 10 million can be described as "hard-to-find" in circulation. Certainly everyday pocket change bears this out. Here are the ten Jefferson nickels with the lowest mintages:

1950-D - 2,630,030
1939-D - 3,514,000
1938-S - 4,105,000
1938-D - 5,376,000
1939-S - 6,630,000
1951-S - 7,776,000
1955 - 8,266,200
1949-S - 9,716,000
1950 - 9,847,386
1948-S - 11,300,000

Any "S" nickel after 1971 also has a mintage below 10 million but this is just the business strike list (aka coins struck for circulation).

The top two are worth at least $5 each (even in worn condition) the rest anywhere between 10¢ to $1.50 and higher in better condition.

How many of the Top Ten can you find?

 

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[killerwine]

Only nickels I have are in an old album from when I was a kid...None on your list...Bummer...

 

[Jeffro]

Got 'em all, unfortunately not many with my metal detector-

 

[ZumbroKid]

I have roll hunted in the past and need to dig out my books to see what i got in them.

 

[JakePhelps]

1948 S is all i got so far in rolls :P

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

You skipped all of the varieties of jefferson nickels. All but the 1943/2 can be found in rolls. They are .....
1939 double monticello @ $50 to $900
1943/2P @ $50 to $1000
1949 D/S @$35 to $1750
1954 S/D @ $6 to $65
1955 D/S @ $5 to $75
1971 @85c to $35
1982P @$2 to $80
1983P @$1.50 to $45
other varieties are listed in the red book and should be saved but are harder to sell than these i listed.
coins from 1938 to 1989 with five full steps are worth a premium
coins from 1990 to now with six full steps also fetch a premium
save all that you find while roll searching. The key diagnostic to high grade jeffersons is the triangle above the porch on monticello. Those would grade XF or better and are worth saving even on common coins. I save any undamaged jefferson before 1960 and all high grades after 1960. exanimo, ss

 

[Snee]

What are all the mintmarks and cities (for coins in general)? And what's the deal with the S? They aren't rare are they? I'm just kind of confused...

 

[Immy]

Mintmarks (20th Century) -

P - Philadelphia - no mintmark prior to 1980 except on wartime nickels from 1942-1945; on all coins except pennies from 1980 to present

D - Denver - most years except 1965-1967, all denominations

O - New Orleans - On Barber dimes, quarters and halves from 1901-1909 and Morgan dollars from 1901-1904

S - San Francisco - most years except 1956-1967; from 1971-present all "S" mintmarks denote proof coins, except pennies which is 1975-present. Proof coins are special made-for-collector coins that are not released into circulation and have low mintages. However, Susan B. Anthony dollars have both business strike (circulation issue) and proof examples of "S" mintmarks for the years of 1979 & 1980. The "S" has garnered a reputation as the rarer mintmark because many key dates in certain series are from this mint (1909S Indian cent, 1909S & 1931S Lincoln cent, 1912S Liberty nickel, etc.). In general most "S" coins have lower mintages.

 

[Diamond Spike]

I need to add W mintmark

W- Westpoint

The 1996 w Dime
Was released in uncirculated mint sets. But People being people some will end up in rolls.
Keep your eyes out for them. uncirculated price is $17.00

 

[Pennyworth]

Another old mint mark is CC-Carson City,on (Seated Liberty dimes,20 cents,quarters,half dollars,dollars) Trade dollar and Morgan dollar coins.

 

[jglunt]

Charlotte North Carolina "C" minted coins (all gold, I think) for a short period of time in the 19th century.