This week has been a great week for coin collecting news and Coin Blogger.  I want to highlight my interview with Bernard Orgovan.  In this interview, there is great information on collecting Jefferson nickels.

If you are looking for more places to learn about coin collecting, you need to read my article on the top 5 coin collecting forums.

Now enough about my coin collecting.  Here are some stories from other great coin collecting blogs and sites that you should read.

If you haven’t checked out Coin Network you really need to.   It is a great social network for people who love coin collecting.  I have started a coin collecting bloggers group.  If you have a blog and sometimes write about coins, please join.  I would love to get to know more coin bloggers!!

World Numismatic News has a great article previewing the 2009 Coins Available From The Royal Mint.  If you are interested in foreign coin collecting, the British Mint always produces beautiful coins.

Susan Headley has written a preview of the 2009 FUN Coin Show.  If you are attending FUN or just want to know what is going on there, this is a great read.

The Mint News Blog has written an interesting article about his recent Tour of the Philadelphia Mint.  I am ashamed to admit that even though I live right outside Philadelphia, I have never been to the Mint.  I will make it a 2009 resolution to take off work and go on the US mint tour.

Dave Harper has written a great article about his coin collecting philosophy and not giving hot coin collecting tips.

The Coin of the Day blog has highlighted the 1986-P five cents this week.  In his write up about the 1986-P five cents, he tells a fascinating story about saving every state quarter he received in pocket change for the last 10 years.

Patrice from Beautiful World Coins has written a great review of the 2009 Canada Silver Proof Coin celebrating flight.

The Coin Update Blog wrote a great review of coin collecting articles for the week.   In this article he was nice enough to mention my article on How PCGS Grading Service Grades Coins.  If you don’t read the Coin Update weekly coin collecting updates, you are missing out on a lot of great articles.

The Numismatic Blog has posted a video of how the D.C. metro is accepting dollar coins.  I hope that Americans  embrace dollar coins again.  However, I think that the mint should stop making them golden trinkets.  I want to new silver dollar in use.

Bernard, thank you for agreeing to do this interview. As we have discussed, I am interested in collecting full step Jefferson nickels. Thank you very much for agreeing to help me to get started in collecting full step jeffersons nickels.

I have read your about page on your site, Big B Coins,  where you state that you specialize in collecting and dealing Jefferson nickels.

What led you to specialize in collecting Jefferson nickels?

Bernard: I was first attracted to Jefferson nickels because I believed that they were a good value. Once I started studying the series, I became enamored with the design; I think it is a beautifully-designed coin.

Why do you like to collect full step nickels?

Bernard: I like to look for full-step nickels primarily for the challenge. While the coin design is beautiful, there are two reasons why Jefferson nickels are not often found with full steps. First, the copper-nickel alloy is very hard. For this reason, high striking pressures have to be used, and this often resulted in dies wearing out quickly. Second, the high point of Jefferson’s hair on the obverse corresponds with the steps on the reverse. This means that only well-struck coins will have full steps. Collectors of all series try to find well-struck coins, for instance, full-split-band Mercury dimes or full-head Standing Liberty quarters.

Where should a beginning coin collector go to find full step Jeffersons? Can you find them in coin rolls from banks? Is it worthwhile to buy uncirculated rolls of nickels?

Bernard: A beginning collector should not necessarily start trying to collect full-step Jeffersons, because it is very challenging, and someone may get discouraged easily. However, if a collector is inclined and motivated, then they will find this to be a very rewarding quest.

Modern Jefferson nickels, from the 1990s to present, almost all have full steps. Because of design changes and improvements in coin presses, these are relatively easy to locate, and can be found in circulation, or in rolls from the bank. Earlier full-step coins are almost impossible to locate in this fashion, though, and are usually found in one of two ways. First, you can purchase individual coins from dealers that have been well-preserved. Sometimes dealers will have full-step coins set aside and marked as such. Often, though, dealers aren’t aware that their nickels have full steps, or don’t want to be bothered looking. This presents a bargain-hunting opportunity for a collector who does want to take the time. A coin worth several hundreds of dollars can be purchased for only a couple of dollars, if you take the time to look carefully.

On the other hand, you need to be aware of coin dealers who will label a coin “full steps” when it is not actually. While there are varying opinions on exactly what constitutes full steps, the market has generally decided that 5 full steps, without breaks, is acceptable. Most technically, the design has 6 steps, but for many dates in the series, 6-step coins are unknown. Collectors, then, seek the best coins they can find, which often results in having to use a 5-step coin, or sometimes even 4.

If you want to purchase older rolls to hunt for full steps, you should be aware that many of these coins have been searched already. Your best bet is to purchase original, bankwrapped rolls that have never been opened. These, however, are few and far between, not to mention expensive.

I know that a lot of coin collectors have a hard time telling whether or not a particular nickel has full steps. Could you tell me how you determine whether a nickel is a full step nickel?

Bernard: Sure. If you look at the reverse of a nickel from 1938-2003 (the design changed in 2004), look closely at the steps of Monticello. You will hopefully see horizontal lines that represent the steps. These steps are supposed to be complete, from left to right, going under all 4 pillars, completely uninterrupted. They do not have to be strong, just complete. I highly recommend you use a loupe or magnifying glass (I use a 10x loupe) to look at the steps, as small details are important here. You don’t want to have any nicks breaking the continuity of the steps.

Since this is a highly visual concept that I’m trying to describe, I would refer the reader to the best reference I have seen for counting steps:

http://varietynickels.com/pages/jefferson-nickel/grading/understanding-full-steps.php

This will make very clear how to look for full steps, as well as an alternate method of counting steps, called the “four quarter step count.” I use this method personally, and I find it to be much more accurate. In this technique, one counts the number of steps visible under each pillar. If I say a nickel has two full steps, that doesn’t tell you much, but if I say the step count is 5-3-2-5, then you have a much better picture of what the steps look like.

As a coin dealer specializing in selling Jefferson nickels, are there any Jeffersons that you think will be particularly good investments?

Bernard: I want to be careful in answering this question, because I don’t sell coins as investments, and you should be wary of anyone who does. While coins may increase in value, they may decrease as well. Coins should primarily be collected because you enjoy them. If they happen to make money for you too, well that’s great.

That being said, coins in the Jefferson series have been trending upward lately. As with any series, key date coins are the ones most likely to increase in value. For the Jefferson series, there are no major rarities (which is one of the reasons it’s a good series to collect) but the rarest dates are 1950-D, 1939-D, 1939-S, 1938-D, and 1938-S. For the market right now, I think 1950-D coins are a great buy. The 1950-D nickel is also a great example of why not to invest in coins! About 30 years ago, an average uncirculated 1950-D nickel sold for as much as $50. Today you can buy the same coin for $15-20. They are on the way back up, but it will be awhile before they reach their previous levels.

Let me take a moment to go on a tangent and talk about the relative rarity of the two key coins to this set: The 1950-D and 1939-D. The 1950-D has the lowest mintage of the series, but it was known at the time it was being released that it was a low mintage coin, so many of these coins were set aside by collectors and dealers. In fact, I would venture to say that there are far more uncirculated 1950-D nickels than there are circulated ones! You can buy a circulated 1950-D coin for about $10, and an uncirculated one for about $15-20! Now, the 1939-D has a higher mintage, but very few of these exist in mint state. So, you can buy a circulated 1939-D coin for $5-6, but an average uncirculated one (say MS-63) will cost nearly $100.

End of Interview

Again, I would like to thank Bernard for helping me personally with learning how to collect full step Jefferson nickels.  I would also like to thank Bernard for agreeing to this interview.  I think that Bernard has provided some great information for both beginner coin collectors and old pros.

I encourage you to check out Bernard’s coin store.  Bernard is looking through his inventory of Jefferson nickels to find me some nice full step nickels.  I am sure that he will provide you with similar great service.

These coin collecting forums are in no particular order.

1.  CoinTalk Forums – These forums are perfect for beginning coin collectors and expert coin collectors.  I really love the community here.

2.  Coin Community Forum – Like the CoinTalk Forums, the Coin Community Forum feels more like a family.  Everyone there is very friendly and helpful.

3.  Coin Network – This site is more than just a coin collecting forum.  It is a social network for coin collectors.  The Coin Network has a forum section, a blog post section, and a section to create groups.  In fact, I have created a group for coin collecting bloggers.  If you are a blogger who writes about coin collecting, please join this group.  It is a great way to network with other coin collectors and bloggers.

4.  Susan Headley’s Coin Forum – Susan Headley is one of the best coin bloggers.  She writes the Susan’s Coins Blog at About.com.  If you have not read Susan’s blog articles, head on over there right now.  She is an excellent writer and very passionate about coins.  In addition to being a great writer, Susan has a great coin collecting forum.

5.  Collector’s Universe Forums -  Collector’s Universe does not just cater to coin collectors.  However, this forum does have an active coin collector community.  Like the other forums mentioned here, the community at Collector;s Universe loves coin collecting.

Do you have a favorite coin collecting forum that is not on my list?  I would love to hear about it.  I am always looking for more places to meet interesting coin collectors.

I hope you enjoy this CoinTalk video.