Login
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.
I recently acquired this 1981-S Susan B. Anthony and believe it is a proof. The only trouble is, is that there are two types of the coin. The 2021 red book tells me that a certain variation of the 's' mint mark makes the difference between them, but I can't see the 's' well enough under my magnifying glass to decide which type it is. Is there other variations I can use to mark the difference?