1949 Nickel

Actually I found two 1949 nickels within a week. Odd since it has been years since I found any 1949 nickel. The coin is fairly common but is not often seen in high grade, especially in circulation.

The pictures above are of different coin the first is a coin in great shape. The second is a very worn coin and has some lamination on the back. The metal is peeling and this is likely because of a minor defect and environmental damage.

I have seen older nickels that are in better shape so I suspect that these nickels had some bad planchets. A bad batch of metal coin blanks or coin dies could have left this entire Philadelphia run weak. Either way that does mean extra value but only a little about 10% higher than your average 1940's nickel.

Here's the stats...
Type/Country: 5 Cents / United States of America
Year: 1949
Mintage: 60,652,000
Metal: 75% copper 25% nickel
Value: $0.15 in low grade

Do you have an older nickel and want to find out its value? Leave a comment and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.