V Nickel green like an Indian Head Cent

rizar33 · Jun 30, 2011

I found my first V Nickel yesterday. Its an 1890 and it looks to be in pretty darn good shape but its as green as the day is long!! As soon as I dug it I knew it wasn't an ordinary nickel so I just put it in my pouch and waited until I got home to mess with it. Ran it under some water and used a soft toothbrush to figure out what it was. Once I realized it was a V Nickel I stopped.

My question is what can/should I do to it?? Can/should it be cleaned up?? If so, what method would be best?

And my last question is why the heck is it green???? :?:

NHKeith · Jun 30, 2011

NO don't clean it. just use warm water and a soft cloth and gently clean off surface dirt.

GREEN = PATINA, (natural oxidization of the metals in the coins).
(Patina gives coins originality.)

ROLL METAL ROLL · Jun 30, 2011

NHKeith said:
NO don't clean it. just use warm water and a soft cloth and gently clean off surface dirt.

GREEN = PATINA, (natural oxidization of the metals in the coins).
(Patina gives coins originality.)

I agree!!!!!

rizar33 · Jun 30, 2011

It just sucks that I don't get to have a nice shinny V Nickel!! :lol:

Bonesquat · Jul 3, 2011

rizar33 said:
It just sucks that I don't get to have a nice shinny V Nickel!!

You NEVER will if you're digging them up. A nice green one is great. I prefer my copper coins to be a nicely toned green but with detail still left.

Cyberborikua · Jul 6, 2011

rizar33 said:
I found my first V Nickel yesterday. Its an 1890 and it looks to be in pretty darn good shape but its as green as the day is long!! As soon as I dug it I knew it wasn't an ordinary nickel so I just put it in my pouch and waited until I got home to mess with it. Ran it under some water and used a soft toothbrush to figure out what it was. Once I realized it was a V Nickel I stopped.

My question is what can/should I do to it?? Can/should it be cleaned up?? If so, what method would be best?

And my last question is why the heck is it green????

Probably a metallic oxide layer from the ground

midwest · Jul 6, 2011

Can we see a pic? Any nickel in the ground that long will never be shiny again. I found an 1883 v nickel, and I would love it to be shiny, but it will never happen. You found it and thats all that matters when it comes to old nickels. Congrats!

Jody007 · Jul 7, 2011

midwest said:
Can we see a pic? Any nickel in the ground that long will never be shiny again. I found an 1883 v nickel, and I would love it to be shiny, but it will never happen. You found it and thats all that matters when it comes to old nickels. Congrats!

Do you know the story behind the 1883 V Nickel and why they changed design in mid-year?

MoBob · Jul 7, 2011

Hey , nice coin buddy , leave it and be happpy , that green just shows it's true age !

doug2060 · Jul 7, 2011

midwest · Jul 8, 2011

Jody007 said:
Do you know the story behind the 1883 V Nickel and why they changed design in mid-year?

No, I don't, but I'm going to Google it now, lol.

foundinrolls · Jul 11, 2011

A coupla things.....There is more copper in a nickel than there is nickel so depending upon soil conditions, five cent pieces can come out of the ground in several colors.

They can be red, green, black or brown. There are other colors or combinations thereof but the copper is very reactive in the soil. You can clean off the dirt but the color is there to stay as it has effected a layer of the metal that if removed would destroy the surface of the coin altogether.

As far as the 1883 V Nickels.....They were first issued with out the words cents on the reverse. They simply had the Roman Numeral V for Five.

Many were gold plated and passed as a new five dollar gold piece. They called them "Racketeer Nickels". The Government solved the problem by adding the denomination CENTS to the reverse of the coin.

An addition to the story is that "Racketeer Nickels" are collectible if they are genuine. They run $30.00 or more for a nice one.

They should never look fully plated and be worn out or they are fake, fakes, so to speak.

Today, people take worn 1883 No Cents coins and plate them to sell them on Ebay and modern made ones have no value.

Keep in mind that a real "Racketeer Nickel" from 1883 was plated the first year it was issued so the coin was not worn out when it was plated. Worn coins that are fully plated are fakes!

Phony Phonies:-) What a Racket!

Have Fun!

Stevo · Jul 12, 2011

It isn't worth anything. If you want it shiny, make it shiny. A dremel brush will take the crud off.

V Nickel green like an Indian Head Cent

rizar33

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NHKeith

ROLL METAL ROLL

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rizar33

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Bonesquat

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Cyberborikua

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midwest

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Jody007

MoBob

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doug2060

midwest

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foundinrolls

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Stevo

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