5 dollar gold piece update with pic

Skrimpy

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Aug 16, 2006
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Just looking for advice. If people want to really see a pic I will pst one. The old mans widow gave my daughter a 5 dollar gold piece this weekend. 1883 no mint mark. I don't even know if it's real. PCGS says its worth anywhere from just over 200 to 30,000 depending on it's condition. It isn't slabbed, so should I send it off to PCGS? If so do I have to become a member? Will it cost me more than the coin can be worth? I have read that if you have a coin that is potentially worth a lot to go with PCGS. Anyone got any opinions?
 

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Re: 5 dollar gold piece

I wanna see, I wanna see !! Happy Father's Day :)
Mike
 

Re: 5 dollar gold piece

tap tap tap tap
 

Re: 5 dollar gold piece

The advice. Then I'll post a pic ;D

The plastic is making the coin look funny. I tried several pics. I don't plan on taking the thing out until I get the dang thing slabbed.
 

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This is not a $5 gold piece. This is a gold plated V nickel. Josh Tatum gold plated these right after they came out and passed them off as gold coins. (Hence, the second year of issue, they made sure that the words "Five Cents" appeared on the reverse, in addition to the Roman Numeral "V".) This is also the origin of the phrase "I was only JOSHING you." So now many of these have been gold plated and sold to collectors, so it is impossible to tell whether one was plated in 1883 or two weeks ago. Sorry to break it to you. If you send it to a coin grading service I think they'd probably send it back. I don't know what they'd do, to be honest. It is probably worth about 20 bucks as an oddity. I don't know how much they're selling for these days, but google "gold plated V nickel" and you'll probably get an idea.

Regards,

Buckleboy
 

buckleboy beat me to it but i think he is right.
 

Not gold...

sorry to say its a "V" nickel. plated and in its day would have gotten you change for a five. Josh was legally blind and if I'm not mistaken didn't get into trouble. He was smart and never used the coin for anything more than five and just took the change when he paid with his "five dollars"!
 

actually if it has the v on back with or without the cents it is a v nickle.If you look at the 5.00 gold coins issued there was never one with a v on the back.
Of course we know that now but back then.......
Just a nice coin to have a little bit of history ...and im sure some people have gold plated them since then. I have one also and i think i paid around 10.00 for it.
 

V nickel it is. If you ever heard the term " you're Joshing me" it comes from a gentleman named Josh who years ago plated the V nickels and passed them off as 5 dollar gold pieces.
Sorry, but it's still a cool looking coin.
HH, Mike in NJ
Update Sorry buckle boy I had'nt read your reply. You beat me to it.
 

Danged if I don't learn something new everyday on T-Net.

Gold plated nickel -- $10.00
Gift to your daughter and a cool story -- priceless
 

well shnit. that sux. Oh well. It will make a nice necklace for my daughter. I'm such an @$$clown.
 

its OK Yuck-o we still like you ;D
 

Sorry to hear the news but great story nevertheless. The gold plated V nickel is still a keeper and holds greater sentimental value.

HH from M2
 

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Look at it this way. If that coin is "Gold plated", that makes it worth more. If it was gold plated in 1883, there is a nice V nickel under there. Romoving the gold plating may reveal a pristine V nickel. Check your redbook for the price on a au55.
 

In a way that sucks but in another way it's a very cool coin to have. Sorry about your luck though. I'd sure like to have one too. Have a good one.
 

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They are also known as a racketeer nickel,as many con men passed them off as $5 gold pieces.

matt
 

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