For sale - $4.00 worth of nickels for $18.00. How can you beat an opportunity like that? As the marketing firm’s Chief of Coin Operations says: “They’re practically clawing each other’s eyes out to get these Jefferson Nickels.” Apparently one justification for the demand is that the coins “show a fresh image of Jefferson in which he is looking forward.” The advertisement offers two rolls of eighty 5-cent pieces, proudly proclaiming: “How to get them now for face value.”

The heart of the pitch is that rolls of these uncirculated coins may appreciate in value into the thousands of dollars. Offered for comparison is a roll of uncirculated 1913 Buffalo nickels, “today worth up to $26,000.” But what unsophisticated dabblers in coins do not realize is that value can be dictated by factors other than condition. A rare flawless 1913 San Francisco Mint, “Type 2” Buffalo nickel, recently offered at $3,110, has little in common with a 1913 Philadelphia Mint, “Type 1” variety, easily bought for $13.

There is currently no established market for these newly issued Jefferson nickels, except for their 5¢ purchasing value. They can be acquired in mint condition at 8¢ each online from the U.S. Mint, at http://catalog.usmint.gov, in bags of one thousand. If, for whatever reason, you want two rolls, the Mint will accommodate you for $8.95. Why anyone willingly incurs a 100% markup seems to defy logic. Nonetheless, the costly half-page color newspaper ads touting this promotion are flaunted, and additionally, contrivances of this sort are regularly repeated. There must be a plethora of takers out there somewhere. What goes on in their heads I cannot imagine.

A concluding thought:
If a vendor must buy multiple spreads in widely circulated newspapers to say how wonderful its product is, it can’t be.