2146

1915 5c PCGS PF65 [L#2146

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:975.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 3,000.00 USD
1915 5c PCGS PF65 [L#2146
A resplendent Gem featuring light toning, spot-free originality, plus that all-important "eye-appeal."

Fine sandblast Proof coins of the Indian head/Buffalo nickel type were struck for sale to collectors from 1913 through 1916 and again in 1936 and 1937, when a mirror polish was substituted. The proof five-cent pieces of 1913-16 are normally referred to as “matte” proofs, but this term is misleading. True matte proofs have a dullish finish completely dissimilar to the surfaces of normal circulation strikes, and this technique of proofing was used by the Mint exclusively for its gold coinage of 1908 and 1911-15, as well as for isolated issues of later years that were not sold publicly (such as commemorative half dollars).

The proof nickels of 1913-16, like the cents of those years, actually possess a satin finish but it was the result of the same process of blasting the surface of the struck coin with a stream of fine sand particles, using equipment at the mint specially designed for this purpose. The finish varies slightly in texture from one date to the next and even within a single year’s coinage, as on the gold proofs made using the same process. When found pristine like this handsome 1915, these coins are extremely beautiful and visibly distinctive from currency strikes.