1960 Nickel Error List with Pictures
Look closely at the words above Monticello: one outline may become three or four. A specially made 1960 Proof with this feature has a recorded $650 eBay sale from January 2021.
Other 1960 Jefferson Nickel errors tell their story through a missing edge, copper blank, or backward date. Estimated values across the types below range from $5–$2,000.
Read on to choose the right comparison before deciding what an unusual line, color, or extra number means.
1. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Raised Cheek Line or Bump above the Date
A fine raised line on Jefferson’s cheek can come from a crack in the stamping tool. The tool is called a die, and its opening fills with metal during striking.
A separate reported example has a raised patch between the zero in 1960 and the rim. A piece of the tool broke away there, leaving extra space for metal.
The two shapes are different forms of tool damage. They do not need to appear together on the same coin.
A later scratch usually cuts into the surface. A later edge hit can also push metal into an apparent bump.
Estimated Value
Minor cheek cracks or small date-area breaks are estimated at $5–$100. The higher end calls for a clear original feature and an attractive coin.
A different-year comparison is a worn 1983-P nickel with a rim-connected break that sold for $63 in July 2022. That price does not establish a sale for either 1960 example.
A high numerical grade can add value to the ordinary coin as well. Do not treat its entire selling price as payment for a tiny crack.
How to Identify
Locate the feature before comparing it with a photograph: the cheek line and the zero-to-rim bump belong to separate examples. Use a 10× magnifier and light from the side.
On the cheek, decide whether the line rises above the surface or cuts into it. A scratch can have raised sides, so inspect its center too.
At the date, follow the patch all the way to the rim and inspect the plain edge beside it. A crushed edge may explain metal pushed upward after minting.
For a loose coin, compare 5 grams on a scale and about 21.2 millimeters with calipers. Keep the complete date and neighboring undamaged surface visible rather than photographing only the bump.
2. 1960 Jefferson Nickel Thread-Like Marks on a Proof
A small line or tangled depression can interrupt the smooth surface of a Proof, a collector coin made with special preparation. Foreign material lay between the blank and the stamping tool.
One 1960 Philadelphia example affects ED in UNITED on the back. Its seller described the material as probably a small wad of thread.
Another example has a thread impression near TY in LIBERTY on the front. These are two coins, not matching defects required on both faces.
The impressed shape records what blocked the strike. It differs from a scratch cut through the finished surface afterward.
Estimated Value
Both examples appeared in a dealer’s listings at $9.95 each. The listings are marked sold out, but that status does not confirm the final price paid.
An estimated $10–$100 suits small, genuine thread-like impressions of this kind. A clean surrounding Proof surface makes the interruption easier to appreciate.
The back-side example’s exact material remains a seller’s interpretation. A small depression should be priced for its visible mint-made features, without adding value for an unproven material identification.
How to Identify
Avoid wiping the polished-looking Proof surface. Check it under a 10× magnifier before deciding whether the mark is a depression or material still sitting on top.
The dealer’s two photographed examples provide different starting places: ED on the back and TY on the front. Keep those locations separate.
A scratch often cuts sharply through completed detail, while an obstruction can prevent nearby detail from forming. Follow the whole shape and compare its ends with the undamaged surface.
For a loose coin, a scale and calipers should give roughly 5 grams and 21.2 millimeters, with a plain edge. Photograph the mark under more than one light angle; a reflection across a Proof can hide its actual depth.
3. 1960 Jefferson Nickel Unusual Color from Heating the Blank
Before striking, a nickel blank is heated to make the metal easier to shape. This step is called annealing.
When heating conditions go wrong, the surface can become unusually dark or acquire a different texture. Recorded 1960 Philadelphia examples include one described as sintered, a label used for its altered surface.
The normal blank is copper and nickel mixed throughout. It does not consist of a nickel coating over a copper center.
Color alone cannot establish the error. Later heating, chemical treatment, and dirt can change an ordinary nickel’s appearance without the same history in the Mint.
Estimated Value
A lightly worn 1960 example graded NGC AU58 sold for $89 in June 2026. An earlier PCGS MS63 example described as sintered brought $64 in June 2008.
An estimated $30–$175 covers comparable genuine heating errors. Original surface quality and the strength of the unusual appearance affect the result.
These are prices for identified coins, not every dark nickel. A common stained piece does not become equivalent just because it shares the same brown or black shade.
How to Identify
Compare the candidate with an ordinary nickel under neutral light, turning both slowly. Pay attention to protected areas beside letters, where original shine may survive.
Inspect any rough texture and the plain edge with a 10× magnifier. Paint, crusts, or corrosion pits can explain an unusual surface without a mint heating error.
For a loose coin, check its weight with a scale and diameter with calipers against 5 grams and 21.2 millimeters. A different size or much lower weight sends the investigation toward another type of blank.
Leave the color intact for examination. Cleaning would remove evidence, and neither normal measurements nor dark color alone can show when the surface changed.
4. 1960 Jefferson Nickel An Extra Outline on the Denver D
Two partial outlines can appear on the small D to the right of Monticello. The mint letter was punched into the stamping tool more than once in slightly different positions.
That feature is called a repunched mintmark, often shortened to RPM. Its extra outline belongs to the letter rather than the whole surrounding design.
The 1960-D reports establish this type without one universal direction for the second D. A northward example should not define every candidate.
Philadelphia coins normally have no mint letter in this position. Their blank area is therefore not a missing-mintmark error.
Estimated Value
Estimate $5–$200 for a matched 1960-D repunched mintmark, from modest examples to sharper pieces with stronger separation. The range is an estimate rather than a sale record for one identified tool.
The exact shape matters more than the simple label D/D. Flat shelf-like doubling can look similar under poor lighting but does not have the same cause.
Preservation also affects price. Match a candidate with the right photographed variety before using the upper end of the range.
How to Identify
Turn to the building, not the date, to locate the mint letter on a 1960 nickel. The Denver D belongs at Monticello’s right side.
Use a 10× magnifier to follow its outer edge and opening. Photograph any separate rounded part of a second D, including the direction in which it projects.
Do not force a northward match if your outline appears elsewhere. Flat shelves or damage to the main letter may explain the appearance without a second punch.
Compare a loose coin with 5 grams on a scale, 21.2 millimeters using calipers, and a plain edge. Then include the neighboring building in the close-up; a correctly shaped D in the correct position is more useful than a cropped bright line.
5. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Denver Design Shifted Off Center
A crescent of smooth metal beside the design can show that the blank sat out of position during striking. Some of the intended design missed the blank entirely.
A 1960-D year guide reports a ten-percent off-center type. It does not establish one particular clock direction or authenticated specimen for every example.
The unused crescent is still part of the coin. That distinguishes it from a clip, where metal is physically missing.
A shifted border on only one face can have another cause. An off-center blank should explain the placement of the design on both faces.
Estimated Value
For a genuine modest offset with its date visible, estimate $20–$250. Stronger visual separation and good preservation support the higher end.
A 1999-P nickel struck fifteen percent off center sold for $64 in March 2025. This is a different-year comparison, not a recorded sale of the reported 1960-D type.
The ten-percent description alone does not fix a price. Compare the actual blank crescent, surviving date, and condition rather than assigning value from the percentage without photographs.
How to Identify
Use calipers and a scale on a loose candidate before estimating the offset. Compare its spans with 21.2 millimeters and its weight with 5 grams to check whether it began as a normal nickel blank.
Find the unused crescent, then turn the coin over. The position of that same metal should explain the displaced design on both faces.
Examine the boundary with a 10× magnifier. A later scraped patch may cut across finished details or carry tool marks.
Inspect the plain edge for trimming and include the date and Denver D in the photograph. If the building’s right side is missing, the absence of a visible D cannot establish Philadelphia or match this Denver report.
6. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Blank or Coin Split into Thin Layers
Metal can separate through its thickness, leaving a thin piece instead of a normal full blank. If separation happens first, the press strikes the newly exposed inner surface.
Philadelphia and Denver examples are recorded at 2.5 grams. Their rough inner texture and weakly formed central detail help distinguish them from normal blanks.
A separate auctioned piece is the front half of a split nickel. Its portrait-bearing outer face survives opposite an exposed inner surface.
The two appearances should not be given the same sequence automatically. Design pressed onto the inner face helps determine whether separation came before or after striking.
Estimated Value
The Philadelphia 2.5-gram split-before-strike example sold for $64 in June 2008. The detached front half brought $51 in April 2021.
Allow an estimated $40–$350 for comparable split pieces, depending on the surviving design and clear evidence of separation. A thin coin with later grinding falls outside this range.
The Denver 2.5-gram example appeared with a 1953-D coin in one auction lot. A combined lot price would not establish the individual value of either piece.
How to Identify
Weigh a loose piece first: the recorded thin-blank examples are 2.5 grams, compared with a normal nickel’s 5 grams. Use calipers to compare intact spans with 21.2 millimeters and check the thin, plain edge.
Now compare its two faces under a 10× magnifier. Design pressed onto a rough inner surface suggests that the blank had already split before striking.
A portrait-bearing outer face opposite an unstruck fracture surface tells a different story. Keep photographs of that interior alongside the surviving portrait instead of assuming that every thin piece has the same sequence.
Look for parallel grinding marks too. Those can reveal deliberate thinning of a finished coin rather than natural separation within the metal.
7. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Curved Gap in an Ordinary or Proof Blank
A gap in the outline can begin when the blank is cut from the metal strip. If the cutting area overlaps an earlier opening, the resulting blank is incomplete.
An ordinary Philadelphia example has a four-percent clip near eleven to twelve o’clock. A separate Philadelphia Proof has a curved clip near one o’clock.
The specially prepared Proof and the ordinary coin belong to different comparisons. Their gaps also occupy different positions.
The missing metal was absent before the design was struck. A section cut out of a finished nickel can imitate the outline but leaves different surfaces around the gap.
Estimated Value
The ordinary four-percent clip, graded PCGS MS66, sold for $92 in January 2005. Estimate $30–$200 for comparable ordinary examples.
For a genuine clipped Proof with well-preserved surfaces, a broader $150–$750 estimate is appropriate. This is an estimate for the reported Proof type, not a confirmed sale of its specific specimen.
The gap’s size is only part of the price. Preserve the distinction between a specially made collector coin and an ordinary nickel when choosing a comparison.
How to Identify
Check the finish before comparing prices or photographs. The Proof example has its gap near one o’clock, while the ordinary four-percent clip is near the top-left edge.
On a loose coin, use a scale against 5 grams and calipers across intact spans against 21.2 millimeters. Missing metal should affect weight, unlike an unstruck crescent that remains part of an off-center coin.
View the gap under a 10× magnifier. Follow the letters toward it and look for softened detail or metal flow around the old opening.
Inspect the remaining plain edge and the gap surface for saw marks. A sharp cut through completed letters points toward later damage.
Keep both faces in the photographs so the missing section can be compared with the design on either side.
8. 1960 Jefferson Nickel Extra Letter Outlines on Proof Coins
Fine extra outlines can make the lettering on a Proof look doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled. They were built into the stamping tool rather than added by repeated strikes on that coin.
The better-known back variety affects E PLURIBUS UNUM and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Collectors call one recognized pattern QDR FS-801, with QDR meaning quadrupled die reverse.
Separate front varieties involve LIBERTY, the star, and date; some also affect IN GOD WE TRUST. They are not required companions to the back pattern.
The original collector finish is part of the identification. Ordinary thick letters are not enough.
Estimated Value
PCGS records a $650 eBay sale in January 2021 for a QDR FS-801 graded PR67. That grade describes a well-preserved Proof with few marks.
Estimate $100–$1,000 for a matched, attractive QDR example. Smaller front or back patterns can be estimated around $15–$150 instead.
The recorded QDR sale is not a price for every doubled Proof. The strength, exact pattern, and condition must match the coin being considered.
How to Identify
Begin at the upper back lettering with a 10× magnifier and light from several directions. Follow a complete letter to see whether separate rounded outlines survive, rather than just a bright reflection.
For the QDR pattern, compare both E PLURIBUS UNUM and the country name. A flat shelf caused by movement during striking should not be counted as another full design outline.
On a loose Proof, confirm roughly 5 grams using a scale, 21.2 millimeters with calipers, and a plain edge. Avoid rubbing the surface while handling it.
If the unusual detail lies on the front, switch to the corresponding front-variety photographs. An extra outline around LIBERTY does not establish that the same coin also carries the valuable back pattern.
9. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Nickel Design on a Copper Cent Blank
A cent blank can enter the nickel press and receive Jefferson’s portrait and Monticello. The smaller copper blank cannot hold all the design intended for a nickel.
A 1960 Philadelphia example was graded PCGS MS64 Red and Brown. Those color words describe its remaining copper appearance, while MS64 indicates an unworn coin with some marks.
A normal copper cent blank of this period weighs about 3.11 grams. That standard is a comparison, not a published measurement of this particular specimen.
No earlier Lincoln design is required. The error started with a blank, rather than a completed cent struck again.
Estimated Value
The auctioned Philadelphia example sold for $470 in January 2013. An estimated $250–$1,500 covers comparable authenticated cent-blank nickels with different preservation and surviving detail.
A later comparison is a 1981-P nickel on a copper cent blank that sold for $372 in September 2025. Its heavier copper-era blank is a closer material comparison than a modern zinc cent.
Color alone does not justify this range. A copper-coated normal nickel is a different object despite its similar appearance.
How to Identify
For a loose candidate, compare its scale reading with roughly 3.11 grams for a copper cent blank and 5 grams for a nickel. A large difference is more useful than color alone.
Calipers can compare its outline with the cent’s starting diameter near 19.05 millimeters and the nickel’s 21.2 millimeters. The final strike may spread the smaller blank.
Under a 10× magnifier, inspect the plain edge for coatings and the outer lettering for natural truncation. Filing can remove completed detail and leave an artificially small coin.
Keep Jefferson, Monticello, and the date in the photographs. If an old Lincoln design also appears, investigate a finished-cent overstrike instead of applying the unused-blank description.
10. 1960 Jefferson Nickel A Repeated Strike with a Backward Date
Two dates do not always come directly from two blows by the date-bearing tool. On this 1960 nickel, the extra date came from another struck coin pressing into it.
The illustrated NGC MS64 example was struck again off center and also received a backward, sunken impression on its back. That transferred impression is called brockage.
The mirror date appears within the larger struck area. It is not simply another ordinary raised date from the second strike.
The combined shape records both movement and contact with another coin. Those events belong to one specimen.
Estimated Value
For a convincing repeated strike with a clear mirror date, estimate $300–$2,000. The illustrated 1960 example establishes the appearance, without a stated sale price.
A different-year comparison is a 1964 broadstruck nickel with front brockage that sold for $319.20 in July 2021. Its transferred design is related, but its striking sequence is not identical.
The upper estimate assumes strong visible details and good preservation. Price the combined error as one coin rather than adding separate amounts for each date.
How to Identify
Read the unusual date through a 10× magnifier, checking whether its numbers are backward and sunken into the metal. Then turn the coin over and compare the normally raised design without reversing either photograph.
For a loose specimen, record scale and caliper readings against the normal 5 grams and 21.2 millimeters, including any distortion. Inspect the plain edge for later shaping before mapping the separate centers of the original and displaced nickel designs.
The illustrated coin has the transferred date in its larger struck area, where contact with another coin explains the mirror impression. Keep that transfer separate from the repeated strike itself; two visible dates do not automatically show two direct impressions from the date-bearing tool.
Conclusion
These estimated $5–$2,000 ranges cover very different objects, from a small tool crack to a coin struck again against another coin. Start with what you can actually see.
Raised extra letters, a sunken backward date, and a rough inner split need different checks. Keep ordinary nickels separate from specially prepared Proofs, and record each coin’s own weight and shape.
Clear photographs of both faces help prevent a small detail from telling the wrong story.