1918/7-D 5C MS(PCGS#3939)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Commissaire-priseur

Stack's Bowers

Numéro du lot

3023

Grade

AU58

Prix

25 200

Description du lot

An exceptionally high grade example for this elusive and conditionally challenged Buffalo nickel overdate. Both sides are warmly and originally toned, the obverse in even apricot-gray, the reverse with slightly more vivid silver-russet iridescence that yields to brilliance at lower left. The surfaces are pleasingly smooth and the often seen pattern of die erosion is present around the peripheries on both sides. Even so, the focal devices in and around the centers are rather well defined, and the all-important 7 underdigit is sharp and readily evident.<p>This overdate was a result of the United States' insatiable demand for circulating minor coins during the final two years of World War I. There was a nationwide shortage of cents and nickels in 1917 and 1918 that resulted in large output of these denominations. During the final quarter of 1917 the engraving department at the Philadelphia Mint was busy producing dies for both 1917- and 1918-dated coinage. One of the obverse dies for the Buffalo nickel received its first impression from a 1917-dated hub, but the second impression came from a 1918-dated hub. This die was then shipped west for use in the Denver Mint, where it produced an unknown, yet presumably small number of 1918/7-D nickels. These were dispersed into circulation alongside normal date 1918-D nickels, without notice, let alone fanfare.<p>Most known examples of 1918/7-D were retrieved from circulation many years later, and today the majority of certified pieces are confined to the lowest grades on the numismatic scale (Good and VG are typical). Survivors grading Fine or better are decidedly in the top half of the extant population, while in premium quality AU-58 the present offering certainly numbers among our finest for this overdate in recent years. A fleeting bidding opportunity for the advanced Buffalo nickel or variety collector to add an important condition rarity to their collection.