In coin collecting, a key date coin is generally harder to find than other dates in the coin series. These key dates also tend to be more valuable and more sought after by collectors. Collectors Dashboard is evaluating the key date of the Jefferson Nickel series, which was the lowest minted of the series.

Only 2,630,030 were produced of the Jefferson Nickel series for the Denver minted coin in 1950. Many collectors have noticed this coin since it was first minted. The last five years have seen auction prices reflect the longstanding interest in higher graded examples.

The coin in anything other than uncirculated condition is a novelty. Every collector of the series knows the low mintage but many examples exist in the highest grades. High-end collectors are beginning to take notice reflective in high prices paid. An auction record for the series was $17,250.00 paid for a Heritage Auction sale in PCGS MS67 condition example on September 13, 2006.

Longstanding understandings for growth date even recently where in 2004 an Extra Fine example was listed at $7.00 while the standard value for most other coins in the series for that condition was between $0.15 and $0.70. The year 2010 saw the price for an Extra Fine value bump to $8.00 dollars before returning back to 7 dollars where it remains to this day.

Enter the competitive realm of high-end examples of 1950 D nickels. A PCGS graded MS67FS (Full Steps on Monticello) sold in a Heritage Auctions listing for $516.00 in March 2021. Three months earlier a near identical graded MS67+FS sold for $1,821.00, also in a Heritage Auction. A plus and one point lower PCGS MS66FS sold in April 2021 for $126.00.

A perfect realized storm used similar ingredients: one high graded PCGS 1950 D Nickel, Heritage Auctions, and a collector interest in collecting the finest graded examples. The low mintage will make this coin interesting to collectors for years to come. Coins grading above MS65 will continue to have the highest prices paid for the series.