Although coins from several years may appear dark from improper annealing or alloy mix, so-called “Black Beauty” nickels were minted in Philadelphia in 1958 and 1959, containing trace amounts of cobalt and silicon during the refining process resulting in their fetching appearance.
Other “gunmetal” nickels might look similar due to overheated annealing, patina gone terminal, and metal-detected corroded coins. But these should not bear the nomenclature of “Black Beauty.” Here’s a panel of 1958 and 59 black beauties alongside an improperly annealed 1963 nickel.
If you find a 1958/59 “Black Beauty,” and wish to grade the coin, it should be uncirculated; otherwise, the cost of grading is prohibitive as these are not valuable errors. Typically, they go for under $50, although unscrupulous sellers like this one use the name “Black Beauty” for tarnished verdigrised coins, asking ridiculous prices (always check “sold” on eBay).
Also keep in mind that if you wish to have “Black Beauty” on the graded label, you should submit to ANACS.
Otherwise you will get an “improperly annealed planchet” label from PCGS or NGC:
Sometimes the improper alloy mix results in only partially black coins, as in this attractive 1959 example:
While many hobbyists search for 1958/59 “Black Beauties,” improperly annealed coins can be beautiful in their own right. Here’s a lovely Shenandoah quarter:
I call these “Bay Pony” coins after brown horses with black manes and tails.
Finally, for the literati reading this post, the name “Black Beauty” comes from an animal autobiographical novel concerning a thoroughbred who tells of owners who mistreated and ultimately loved him.
If you like posts like this, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.
Proxiblog also has hundreds of followers on Facebook Coin Groups. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.
You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.
