The last issue of E-Sylum has to go in the E-Sylum Issues Hall of Fame!

The issue had such a wide mix of interesting topics (an actual verifiable racketeer nickel!) that it would be a strong contender in my estimation. I had just about consigned the racketeer nickel story to legendary status, and now they find one. Just goes to show that we skeptics aren't always right...

It appears that the plating has been breached somewhat, exposing the underlying nickel alloy to some irreversible corrosion. The colors present in the dark areas are fairly typical of buried copper alloys that have mineralized. Conservation would be somewhat pointless I would think. Plenty of plating remains to establish it as a "Racketeer Nickel," and the provenance of the piece is self-authenticated by the condition, looking very much like a buried "treasure."

I would think it would be worth more than than the "less than 10 cents" cited by the archaeologist, but then this is the somewhat political position always taken by archaeologists opposed to any sort of "commercial archaeology." Myself, I do not find the information requirements of the two approaches to be any different. Provenance and diligent forensic science enhance the value of finds, whether monetary value or historical importance.

Cool piece.