1960 Nickel Value Checker: Errors List, “D” & No Mint Mark Worth

1960 Nickel value ranges from $0.05 face value to $15,000. That top sale was a Grade 66 coin sold on eBay in July 2019, setting the bar for this year. If you want to know what yours is worth, upload a photo below for a quick value range. Then keep scrolling to browse recent eBay sales on 1960 Nickels.

 

1960 Nickel Value By Variety

If you know the grade of your coin, the exact price is in the Value Guides section below.

Also Read: Top 100 Most Valuable Jefferson Nickels Worth Money List (1938-Present)

 

Top 10 Most Valuable 1960 Nickel Worth Money

The king of the 1960 nickel market is an MS-66+ Full Steps specimen that sold for $15,000 on eBay in July 2019. A standard MS-69 brought $6,463 — impressive, but still thousands less. One grade point at the top of the census can mean a huge gap in price.

The 1960-D MS-67 at $3,150 — recorded via eBay in December 2021 — proves Denver coins can play in the big leagues too, if the surfaces are clean enough.

Here’s the thing: PCGS CoinFacts shows roughly two dozen Full Steps examples known for the 1960-P across all grades combined. The 1960-D? Zero Full Steps coins graded by PCGS as of 2014. That strike rarity is what sends prices into five figures. If you think your coin has sharp steps, get it slabbed — the difference between an MS-64 and MS-66 can be thousands of dollars.

 

History of The 1960 Nickel

The 1960 Jefferson nickel hit cash registers the same year JFK edged out Nixon in one of the tightest presidential races in history. Cold War anxiety was everywhere, and so were these nickels — nearly 248 million of them.

The series started back in 1938 when the Mint ran an open competition to replace the Buffalo nickel. Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross announced the contest in late January 1938, dangling a $1,000 prize. 390 entries came in.

Felix Oscar Schlag, a German-born artist living in the U.S. since 1929, won. He was announced the winner on April 21, 1938. Art scholar Cornelius Vermeule later noted that Schlag’s Jefferson portrait closely resembled Jean-Antoine Houdon’s 1789 marble bust of Jefferson.

Here’s a fun detail: Schlag originally drew Monticello at a three-quarter angle. Treasury rejected it. The final coin shows a flat, head-on view — and that change directly affected how the steps render on the die. Those steps are now the single most important feature collectors chase.

In 1939, the Mint recut the hub to sharpen Monticello’s steps, which had been fuzzy in initial strikings. That fix created the Full Steps standard specialists still use today.

By 1960, the coin was back to its standard 75% copper / 25% nickel composition after the wartime silver alloy years of 1942–1945. Two mints cranked out a combined 248 million pieces, and quality control took a beating. Ironically, that sloppy production created some of the biggest rarities in the entire Jefferson series.

Also Read: Top 60+ Most Valuable Buffalo Nickels Worth Money

 

Is Your 1960 Nickel Rare?

Curious about your 1960 nickel’s rarity? The Coin Identifier and Value App delivers instant authentication, variety identification, and accurate pricing data to help you discover if you’re holding a treasure.

 

Key Features of The 1960 Nickel

The 1960 Jefferson nickel carries Felix Schlag’s classic design — the same one that’s been on our five-cent pieces for decades. Here’s what to look for when you’re examining yours.

The Obverse Of The 1960 Nickel

The obverse shows Thomas Jefferson’s left-facing profile, based on Jean-Antoine Houdon’s marble bust sculpted from life in 1789. It’s a warmer, more lifelike portrait than most coins of the era.

“IN GOD WE TRUST” curves along the left rim. “LIBERTY” sits on the right, followed by a five-pointed star and the date 1960. Philadelphia coins carry no mint mark — Philly didn’t use one on nickels until 1980. So if you see a bare reverse, that’s your Philly coin.

One more thing: Schlag never put his initials on the original design, either by oversight or because he misread the contest rules. His initials weren’t added until 1966, so every 1960 nickel belongs to the unsigned era.

The Reverse Of The 1960 Nickel

Flip it over and you’ll see Monticello head-on — Jefferson’s estate in Charlottesville, Virginia, with its dome and columned portico. “E PLURIBUS UNUM” runs above the building, “MONTICELLO” below, and “FIVE CENTS” with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” along the bottom rim.

Look at the staircase below the portico. That’s where the money is. The “Full Steps” (FS) designation requires at least five clearly defined, uninterrupted horizontal lines on those steps. It’s the primary strike-quality test for the entire Jefferson series and it dramatically changes what a coin is worth.

Since 2004, NGC distinguishes between 5FS (five full steps) and 6FS (six full steps), with six-step coins pulling the highest premiums. The 1960 issue is so poorly struck overall that even five-step examples are extreme rarities.

Other Features Of The 1960 Nickel

The 1960 nickel measures 21.20mm in diameter, weighs 5 grams, and is 1.95mm thick with a smooth, plain edge. The cupronickel alloy — 75% copper and 25% nickel — gives it that familiar silvery look while holding up to years of pocket wear.

Melt value sits around $0.07. Nobody ever melted these for their metal, which is why survival rates are so high across all business-strike varieties.

Also Read: Top 100 Rarest Nickels Worth Money (Most Expensive)

 

1960 Nickel Mintage & Survival Data

Denver did the heavy lifting in 1960, pumping out 192,582,180 nickels. Philadelphia added 55,416,000 business strikes plus 1,691,602 proofs for collectors.

Survival rates on business strikes are wild — 80.5% for Denver, 79.4% for Philadelphia. Four out of every five coins made are still around. No silver content, no melt incentive, no reason to destroy them.

Proofs are a different story. Standard proofs survive at 45.8%, but cameo varieties drop fast — 24.8% for CAM, just 9.5% for DCAM. Keeping those pristine mirror surfaces perfect for six decades is tough. That’s exactly why high-grade DCAM examples pull serious premiums.

Also Read: Jefferson Nickel Value (1938-Present)

 

The Easy Way to Know Your 1960 Nickel Value

Three things determine your 1960 nickel’s value: the mint mark, the grade, and whether it has a special designation like Full Steps or Cameo. A circulated example is worth five cents. A certified MS-66+ Full Steps sold for $15,000.

The Coin Identifier and Value App handles all of this for you. Snap a photo and get variety identification, condition assessment, and current market values instantly.

 

1960 Nickel Value Guides

Here’s the paradox with 1960 nickels: over 247 million business strikes were made, but the strike quality was terrible. Worn examples are everywhere. Sharp ones are genuinely scarce.

There are five primary varieties to know:

Five Varieties of 1960 Nickels:

• 1960 No Mint Mark Nickel (Philadelphia) — Standard business strike
• 1960 D Nickel (Denver) — High mintage business strike
• 1960 Proof Nickel (Philadelphia) — Collector strike with mirror-like fields
• 1960 CAM Nickel (Philadelphia) — Proof with frosted devices on design elements
• 1960 DCAM Nickel (Philadelphia) — Proof with strong, deep frosty contrast

 

1960 No Mint Mark Nickel Value

Most people assume a coin with 55,416,000 mintage can’t be worth much. They’re right — until Full Steps enters the picture.

Check the reverse, just right of Monticello. No mint mark means Philadelphia. In MS-63 — uncirculated but showing bag marks — you’re looking at about $5. A gem MS-65 with strong luster trades around $15.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. The 1960-P is notorious for mushy, weak strikes from overworked dies. PCGS CoinFacts reports fewer than two dozen examples have earned the Full Steps designation across all grades combined. That scarcity creates a massive price gap: $15 for a standard MS-65 versus $3,000 for an MS-65 with Full Steps.

The all-time record? $15,000 for a PCGS MS-66+ FS specimen, sold via eBay in July 2019. A separate MS-65 FS brought $3,199.99 at eBay in March 2018. Full Steps turns this common coin into a completely different kind of rare.

The chart below illustrates the auction performance of this standard Philadelphia strike over time, revealing price trends across different grade levels.

Market activity data shown in the following chart demonstrates the trading frequency and collector demand for this widely circulated variety.

 

1960-D Nickel Value

Can a coin with 192,582,180 siblings ever be rare? In Full Steps — absolutely, because it doesn’t exist. PCGS specialist Jaime Hernandez calls the 1960-D “the most difficult coin to find with the Full Steps designation from 1938 to 1964.” As of 2014, PCGS had not certified a single 1960-D Full Steps example in any grade. Not one, out of nearly 193 million coins.

Since Full Steps is off the table, value comes down to surface quality. MS-65 examples run about $18. The coin gets scarce at MS-66 and above — PCGS estimates only 50 to 75 coins would qualify for MS-66 or higher. Most original planchets came loaded with nicks and scratches. The current auction record is $3,150 for an MS-67 specimen, sold on eBay in December 2021.

There’s one variety worth cherrypicking: the D/D Repunched Mint Mark (RPM). Before 1990, mint marks were hand-punched into dies, and sometimes the technician missed on the first swing. The result is a doubled “D” visible under magnification. RPM examples carry a nice premium over standard coins.

Auction records for Denver-minted specimens are presented in the chart below, showcasing realized prices for various condition grades.

The accompanying market activity chart reflects the buying and selling patterns that characterize this high-mintage issue in today’s numismatic marketplace.

 

1960 Proof Nickel Value

A PR-67 for $22 and a PR-69 for $325 — that spread tells you everything about the 1960 proof market. The coins themselves aren’t scarce. Philadelphia struck 1,691,602 of them, and PCGS estimates about 775,000 still survive. Collectors bought the annual Proof Sets and tucked them away.

What’s hard to find is perfection. These coins were struck with polished dies on prepared planchets, giving them razor-sharp details and mirror fields. But surviving 65 years without a single hairline, haze spot, or contact mark? That’s the real challenge. PR-68 trades near $25. PR-69 jumps to around $325.

Worth noting: proof production stopped after 1964 because of the nationwide coin shortage. That makes the 1960 proof one of the last affordable collector-issue proofs from this era before everything got disrupted.

Historical auction results displayed in the chart provide insight into how collector-grade proofs have performed at major sales events.

Market engagement for proof specimens are captured in the market activity visualization below.

 

1960 CAM Nickel Value

If you’re building a proof set on a budget, Cameo proofs are the sweet spot. They’re visually stunning — frosty white devices against deep mirror fields — without the price tag of Deep Cameo.

The Cameo effect wasn’t something the Mint aimed for in 1960. It happened naturally when freshly polished dies struck the first few coins. As the die wore down, the frost disappeared. So only a fraction of that 1.69 million proof mintage genuinely qualifies for the CAM designation.

A PR-67 CAM runs about $40 versus $22 for a standard proof at the same grade. PR-68 CAM, which is considerably scarcer, commands approximately $65. I think these are some of the best values in the 1960 proof market right now.

The auction record chart below tracks the premium values achieved by these desirable cameo-designated proofs across different grade tiers.

Market activity metrics illustrated in the following chart reveal collector interest and transaction frequency for cameo varieties.

 

1960 DCAM Nickel Value

Ten coins. That’s how many PR-69 Deep Cameo 1960 nickels are known. None graded higher. The auction record of $6,463 for one of those PR-69 DCAM specimens shows what collectors will pay for the best of the best.

“Deep Cameo” means the frost on the devices is heavy and dramatic — think snow-white relief against jet-black mirror fields. Through PR-67 DCAM, these are still accessible and modestly priced. But at PR-68 and above, the population drops fast.

Prices reflect that scarcity perfectly. You’re looking at approximately $35 at PR-65 DCAM, climbing to $100–$500 at PR-68 DCAM, and around $4,500 at PR-69 DCAM. We think top-pop DCAM examples are only going to get harder to find as registry set collectors lock them away.

Auction performance data presented below highlights the significant premiums commanded by these rare deep cameo specimens.

The market activity chart demonstrates the competitive demand and limited availability that characterizes deep cameo specimens’ trading patterns.

Also Read: 22 Rare Nickel Errors List with Pictures (By Year)

 

Rare 1960 Nickel Error List

Among the hundreds of millions of 1960 nickels produced, the Mint made some mistakes — and those mistakes are worth real money. Here are the documented error varieties you should be hunting for.

1. 1960 QDR FS-801 (Quadrupled Die Reverse)

This is the big one. “QDR” stands for Quadrupled Die Reverse — far more dramatic than a standard doubled die. During die production, the working die got struck by the hub four separate times, each with a slight rotational misalignment. That created a quadrupled ghost image baked right into the die.

The doubling (quadrupling, really) shows up best on “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” You can sometimes spot it without magnification on strong examples.

QDR varieties are exceptionally scarce in the Jefferson series. According to CONECA (Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America), confirmed QDR dates include only 1939, 1956, and 1960.

This is a proof variety. In PR-66 to PR-68 with Cameo or Deep Cameo contrast, expect $400 to over $700 at auction. The strongest examples — visible quadrupling plus deep frosty contrast — pull the highest prices.

2. 1960-D Repunched Mint Mark (RPM D/D)

This is a great beginner error to hunt. Before 1989, Mint technicians hand-punched mint marks into each working die with a steel punch and mallet. Miss slightly on the first hit? You punch again. That leaves overlapping “D” impressions on the die, and every coin struck from it carries the evidence.

Look for a secondary, fainter “D” next to the primary mint mark. The position gets described directionally — “D/D North” means the earlier impression sits slightly above the final one.

Most circulated RPM examples sell in the $5 to $30 range. Sharply struck, slabbed examples in high grades can bring several hundred dollars. All you need is a basic loupe to start cherrypicking these from bulk lots.

3. 1960 Clipped Planchet Error

A clipped planchet happens when the metal strip feeds through the blanking press incorrectly. The result is a coin with a curved bite taken out of its rim. Think of it like a cookie cutter overlapping the edge of the dough.

Size and position of the clip matter a lot for value. A large, dramatic curved clip on a high-grade coin can sell for $50 to $150. Straight clips — caused by the strip ending mid-punch — are rarer and bring more.

Both PCGS and NGC certify planchet errors on their standard labels, so you can get these authenticated and slabbed.

 

Where to Sell Your 1960 Nickel?

Choosing the right selling platform can significantly impact your final sale price and overall experience. For a comprehensive comparison of the most trusted online marketplaces, including their advantages and limitations, explore our detailed guide:

Check out now: Best Places To Sell Coins Online (Pros & Cons)

 

1960 Nickel Market Trend

*Market Trend Chart showing the number of people paying attention to this coin.

 

FAQ about The 1960 Nickel Value

1. What is the metal composition of the 1960 Nickel, and does it contain any silver?

No silver here. The 1960 nickel is 75% copper and 25% nickel — standard cupronickel. The only Jefferson nickels with silver are the “War Nickels” from late 1942 through 1945, which used a 35% silver alloy. You can identify those by the large mint mark (P, D, or S) above Monticello on the reverse. The 1960 doesn’t have that feature.

2. What is the typical 1960 Nickel value, and what makes some examples rare?

Most circulated 1960 nickels are worth face value — five cents. A standard gem MS-65 sells for around $15. The game-changer is the Full Steps designation, which pushes a similar-grade coin to $3,000 or more. Fewer than two dozen FS examples are believed to exist across all grades.

3. What is the “Full Steps” designation, and why is it so rare on the 1960 Nickel?

“Full Steps” (FS) means at least five complete, unbroken horizontal lines are visible on Monticello’s staircase. No interruptions from weak strikes, die wear, or bag marks allowed.

Both Philadelphia and Denver used heavily worn dies in 1960, producing what specialists call a “mushy” impression on the steps. PCGS CoinFacts reports approximately two dozen 1960-P examples with Full Steps across all grades combined. As of 2014, PCGS had not certified a single 1960-D example with Full Steps. Zero.

4. How do Cameo (CAM) and Deep Cameo (DCAM) proofs differ, and how does that affect 1960 Nickel value?

Cameo (CAM) means the raised design elements look frosty white against shiny mirror fields. Deep Cameo (DCAM) means that contrast is cranked up to maximum — heavy frost against a jet-black mirror.

Neither was intentional in 1960. Both were byproducts of freshly polished dies that wore down with use. A standard PR-67 proof is worth about $22, a PR-67 CAM is around $40, and a PR-67 DCAM commands approximately $60 or more.

5. What is the highest price ever paid for a 1960 Nickel, and what made it so valuable?

$15,000 for a PCGS MS-66+ Full Steps example in a July 2019 eBay sale. MS-66+ means superb eye appeal, nearly full luster, and only trivial contact marks — already rare for this date. Add certified Full Steps and you’ve got one of the most valuable modern business-strike nickels known.

6. Are there any valuable error coins among 1960 Nickels?

Three documented types. The 1960 QDR FS-801 (Quadrupled Die Reverse) is the prize — the reverse die was hubbed four times with slight misalignment, creating dramatic quadrupled inscriptions. High-grade examples sell for $400 to $700+.

The 1960-D Repunched Mint Mark (RPM D/D) shows doubling on the “D” and sells for $5 to several hundred dollars depending on grade. Clipped planchet errors — coins missing a section of rim — bring $50 to $150 in high grades.

7. What does the Sheldon grading scale mean for the 1960 Nickel, and how does grade affect value?

The Sheldon scale runs from 1 (Poor) to 70 (Perfect Mint State). For the 1960 nickel, circulated grades below MS-60 are worth face value. Premiums start at MS-63 (around $5), jump at MS-65 ($15), and accelerate sharply at MS-66+ ($150+). Full Steps examples operate on a completely separate price scale.

8. How can I identify a 1960-D Nickel versus a 1960 Philadelphia Nickel?

Flip to the reverse and look right of Monticello, near the rim. A small “D” means Denver. No letter at all means Philadelphia — the Philly Mint didn’t use a “P” on nickels until 1980. While you’re there with your loupe, check for any doubling on the “D.” That would be a Repunched Mint Mark variety worth extra.

9. Is the 1960 Proof Nickel hard to find, and how many survive today?

Not at the standard level. PCGS estimates roughly 775,000 survive from the original mintage of 1,691,602. Most were stored carefully by collectors who bought the annual Proof Sets, so PR-67 examples are common and cheap.

The rarity shows up at the top. PR-69 examples are scarce, and PR-69 DCAM coins number just ten known. The real question isn’t whether your proof is a proof — it’s whether it has Cameo contrast and what grade it would earn.

10. Should I clean my 1960 Nickel before having it graded or sold?

Never. Even gentle cleaning leaves microscopic hairlines that graders spot immediately. A cleaned coin gets a “Details” grade from PCGS or NGC and sells for a fraction of what an original, uncleaned example would bring. Toning, light dirt, storage residue — leave it all alone and submit the coin as-is.