This is a very rare Jefferson Nickel off-metal, certified by PCGS. Although designated as struck on a 4 gram foreign planchet, there is more than meets the eye.

The U.S. Mint struck foreign coins from 1874 until December 31, 1984, when the demand for domestic coinage became too great. In all, the Mint produced 11,193,348,346 foreign coins at six facilities - Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, West Point, and Manila - for 43 different nations: Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Belgian Congo, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Indo-China, Greenland, Guatemala, Kingdom of Hawaii, Honduras, Israel, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands East Indies, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Surinam, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela.

The Mint Error News website has a 69 page report of coins struck by the U.S. Mint for foreign countries. It is the most comprehensive report available anywhere. Click here for a PDF of the 69 page report.

This full-size copper planchet struck by Jefferson nickel dies has a weight of 4.0 grams and a diameter of 21mm and does not match any known foreign planchet. The closest planchet produced by a foreign country is not a close match by any means.

Occasionally, a U.S. coin struck on a foreign planchet after 1984 surfaces and usually matches the specifications for a foreign planchet struck by a foreign country, but somehow was mixed into the planchets used by the U.S. Mint.

That's not the case in this situation, since this Jefferson Nickel off-metal does not match any known foreign planchet. Possibly unique, possibly a piece de caprice, and definitely for the collector of Jefferson Nickels or mint errors.

Off-Metal Errors are featured in
my NLG Award winning book,
World's Greatest Mint Errors.