Description
A 5 cent piece, date 1888. On the front it has a large number 5 with stars in a circle around it. On the front it has United States of America. On the back is some type of shield with In God We Trust and at the bottom has the date of 1888. It is a rather dark color. Don't believe it is actual silver but not sure.
Thank you.
Re: A five cent piece
It is a US nickel Five Cent Coin. You can find the value of it in any of the common coin price guides in bookstores or libraries.
From 1888 it should be worth a few bucks at least, but the condition will make a big difference.
Re: A five cent piece
This is what they call a Shield Nickel (for obvious reasons). It was the United State's first "nickel", named because it was made of Nickel (actually only 25% nickel, the other 75% is copper). I beleive this might be an 1883 since they didn't make Shield nickels in 1888. By that time they were making Liberty Head Nickels. The face of the coin (the shield side) looks like it is pitted, which is indicative of it having been burried at some point. From working in a coin shop, I've seen many of these nickels come in very dark, some pitch black. I've never found a reason for this, but accept it that it is common. 1883 is a fairly common date and in Good-4 condition this coin is worth about $5-$10. Due to the pitting and dark color, that would bump the value down around the $2-$5 mark.
Re: A five cent piece
The coin condition is not that good. If the coin was in better condition it could have a price between 40-60 euro's