Nickel mystery?

[Goes4ever]

Got a strange signal, was bouncing around quite a bit the Fe number was bouncing from 12 line all the way to 35

The CO number was around the mid 30s

This kind of signal makes me curious, so I dug it, turned out to be a 1947 Canadian nickel. Now these are 99.9% nickel, and shouldnt give a conductive signal at all, I air tested it and it gave a solid FE of 35

Hmmmmm, makes me wonder how I even found it to begin with, nothing else was in the hole. How do people in Canada ever get nickels?

 

[NebTrac]

What does a magnet do to it Terry? Sounds possible counterfit, on the other had with that high of a Fe reading, should've been a rusted glob by now, you'd think.

NebTrac

 

[cannon]

I cant check the exact numbers right now as I am at work, but i find lots of canadian nickles around that date and they all ring on fe 12 line.

 

[Goes4ever]

What does a magnet do to it Terry? Sounds possible counterfit, on the other had with that high of a Fe reading, should've been a rusted glob by now, you'd think.

NebTrac

Neb, almost ALL canadian coins, at least those with high nickel content stick to a magnet. Nickel is very magnetic. Their old nickels are 99.9% nickel......even their dimes stick to a magnet. Nickel does not rust though....it is real not a counterfiet

 

[NebTrac]

I knew the newer ones did, but I figured a 1947 nickel would at least not have any iron in it. That is interesting. On another note....why would anyone "counterfit" a nickel.....? I think of the cuff sometimes.

NebTrac

 

[Goes4ever]

it doesn't have iron Neb......the metal Nickel is magnetic

 

[NebTrac]

That was something I certainly didn't know. I found this on Wickipedia.

Coins of nearly pure nickel were first used in 1881 in Switzerland, and more notably 99.9% nickel five-cent coins were struck in Canada (the world's largest nickel producer at the time) during non-war years from 1922

 

[Bell-Two]

I knew the newer ones did, but I figured a 1947 nickel would at least not have any iron in it. That is interesting. On another note....why would anyone "counterfit" a nickel.....? I think of the cuff sometimes.

NebTrac

Actually some one did counterfeit nickels This is from Coinpeople.com I saw once on a forum one that was dug up.

These came to the attention of the FBI in 1954, apparently Francis Henning had been producing 1944 dated nickels for some number of years, and it is conjectured that he circulated approximately 100,000 of them before he was caught. Another 400,000 may have been dumped into creeks or rivers in NJ and have never been located.

The most glaring difference on this piece is of course the missing mintmark that was over Monticello on the 1942-1945 dated coins that were also about 1/3rd silver. This piece is approximately 80% nickel, with some steel and other elements. One of the mysteries is why did he make them, considering that given the materials, work etc. necessary that it was not economically beneficial to make these coins - if anything Henning probably lost money on them.

Another giveaway that identifies this piece as a Henning counterfeit is the loop on the first part of the letter R in Pluribus - this has been found on a very few 1939 dated nickels and some from 1945-6. The other dates are considerably scarcer to find.

But as proof of the fact that the American public doesn't really look at their change, these nickels continued to circulate for many years. It was not worth the considerable effort to make the public aware of them - and it is conjectured that the FBI turned over the blanks from these coins to the Philadelphia mint and they struck nickels on them in the mid 1950's.

 

[Beyonder]

When I had the Etrac, I found a 12-30 which was a silver war nickel.

Bey