I have recently acquired some nickels from a friend, all of these nickels are very similar to the image of the nickel shown above.� I know that it is a westward journey "American Bison" nickel, that was easy.� The problem is, is that they seem a little proof like. After some research I am mostly sure that they are not copper satin finished, and they are probably in the MS 66+ grading. I just can't figure out if they are proofs, SMS, or just average nickels that have a high grade.� My friend said that his grandfather purchased them at a coin shop around a decade ago,� and that they came in some�special boxes with a paper mint "certificate"; I'm not sure what that means except his grandfather may have been duped.� If you have any idea on what this is, please let me know. Thank you.�

For this blog I will be writing about the early history of nickels.� If you wish to read about the later history of nickels, you can refer to an earlier blog entitled “A Brief History of 20th Century Nickels”

Hello, this is my first blog post, it may be short but I hopefully it is at least informative.� Today I am writing about one of the most important coinage laws passed: The Coinage Act of 1873.�

I've done some research and(according to multiple sources including a Red Book) I have found that it could be worth $130,000. It is a 1884-S dollar coin.� �Is this the actual price?�