1943 S error nickel

[Paul N]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum, not a paying member, but looking for advice on a coin my sister and I inherited. It's a 1943 S nickel with some interesting features. On the obverse side, there is a faint image of the "LIBERTY * 1943" that is rotated from the main image. On the reverse side, directly opposite from the displaced obverse image, there is a superimposed impression. There is a raised feature superimposed on Monticello, and some interesting impressions on the upper right part of the face. The rim is obliterated over the right hand portion of the face. What could have caused this? Could this coin have enough value to warrant further inquiry, and if so, what is a good way to go about it?

[mustbebob]

Based on the damage to the coin itself, it is most likely post mint damage where someone took another coin or 2 and squeezed them all together in a vice. Are the secondary images sunk into the coin or are they all raised?

[Paul N]

The images on the obverse side are raised, like the normal characters, and are not mirror images, so they are not from another coin. I've marked on the photo where the obverse side secondary images are. The impressions on the reverse side are harder to identify, so I don't know whether they are reversed or not. Note the raised blob on the Monticello. The fact that the errors are on opposite sides of the same coin suggests that they were all created by the same event at the mint.

[mustbebob]

This one needs to be seen by an error specialist. I am concerned about the apparent damage and why something like this is so worn if it came from the mint like this. I also question why there is not more extra devices showing on the obverse if it was indeed double struck. I will stick with varieties as my specialty and will leave this one to an error examiner to figure out. I just plain don't know.

[Paul N]

It is puzzling for sure. Is there an error specialist that I can contact directly, or should I wait until one decides to offer an opinion?

[MintErrors]

Do you know the weight of this coin in grams?

It could easily be a double struck coin which was rotated in collar. What concerns me is the reverse of this coin. IF it was/is a double struck rotated collar, the obverse and reverse should look close to the same, meaning the words around the rim would shift appropriately, if the planchet shifts.

Things can go a little crazy if one die is loose and only one side of the coin shows a double struck coin in collar.

Now, for the reverse, it's really tough to tell what's going on..

is it simply damaged ?,

is it a struck through capped die ? There is a big difference between a struck thru a capped die, and a capped die. The only way to know if this was a capped die is to see a relatively high wall around the rim. This coin does not appear to have a high rim.

The reverse could be a struck through debris, but the original strike looks good. What happened after that is a mystery.

[Paul N]

I haven't weighed the coin yet, and I'm wondering where I might find a scale with the necessary precision.

I don't know much about how the coin presses of the 1940s worked, so it's difficult for me to theorize about what may have happened. On the obverse, it looks like the coin was double struck and rotated as you say, with the damage limited to the right hand side. On the reverse, the left side looks normal, but the rim tapers off to nothing on the right side. It seems as if the die has a tapered, off center cap. There are features on the right hand side that appear to be nonrandom, as if they belong to an image.

[MintErrors]

I bought a 2 decimal, digital scale off amazon for pretty cheap, less 20 bucks shipped to the office.

my personal issue with the reverse of this coin is that the initial strike llooks like it was good. For example, if you locate UNUM, most of the letters are there, but so is that unrecognizble pattern. This is a head scratcher for sure.

[Paul N]

I tried to decipher the reverse side pattern by retouching the photo to remove the normal features. Then I reversed the image and created a negative to simulate whatever might have created the pattern. Unfortunately, I still cannot recognize it.

[Paul N]

Gary,

The nickel weighs 4.86g.

[MintErrors]

It's a little low, but not terribly so.

[Paul N]

Did the war nickels weigh the same as the others when newly minted?

[MintErrors]

Although I do know the answer, this is a question that is easily answered in the Red Book, or Google knows all. For example.....

Sure I am here to help, but some additional initiative by the poster is appreciative.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_nickel

[Paul N]

The wikipedia article is informative, but doesn't specifically state the weight. One might assume that the nickel was required by law to weigh 5 grams, but then again it was also required to be composed of nickel and copper. Google turns up sites that state the weight as 5 grams, but their authority is not certain. The Red Book is a great reference and probably contains the answer. But my real question is, does this coin have any value beyond that of a well worn 1943 nickel? It's certainly unusual. But without a marketable value, perhaps it will just remain in a jewelry box as an oddity to be passed to the next generation, to someday consume a few days of someone else's time.