Lot #271: Canada 1953 Five-Cent Coin (No Shoulder Fold & Near Maple Leaf)

Canada 1953 Five-Cent Coin (No Shoulder Fold & Near Maple Leaf) This is a 1953 Canada Five-Cent (No Shoulder Fold & Near Maple Leaf) coin. The 1953 Canadian 5-cent coin struck in chromium-plated steel. This year is incredibly famous in Canadian numismatics because it features the ultimate "holy grail" error variety of modern Canadian pocket change. In 1953, the Royal Canadian Mint paired two different front (obverse) portrait dies with two different back (reverse) maple leaf dies. This created four distinct varieties, including a legendary, highly valuable "mule" error coin. The Two Obverse Varieties: Shoulder Fold vs. No Shoulder Fold When Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne, her first coin profile portrait featured an intricate dress design. However, the relief design was sculpted too deeply into the master die. No Shoulder Fold (NSF / No Strap): On the initial production runs, the deep engraving caused the two shoulder straps on the Queen's gown to completely vanish on the struck coins, leaving a smooth shoulder. To tell this apart on worn coins, collectors look at the letter "I" in the Latin word DEI on the front text—on the NSF variety, the ends of the "I" are noticeably flared. Shoulder Fold (SF / With Strap): Later in 1953, the Chief Engraver modified the dies by hand to make the design shallower, which cleanly brought out the folds/straps on the Queen's shoulder. On these corrected dies, the letter "I" in DEI is completely straight sided. On the 1953 Canadian nickel, "Near Leaf" means that the top point of the right-hand maple leaf sits exceptionally close to the outer rim of the coin. When the Royal Canadian Mint modified the coin's dies in 1953, they shifted the design slightly, creating two distinct spacing variants for the reverse side: Near Leaf (Near Maple Leaf): The tip of the right-hand maple leaf is practically touching the inner edge of the rim denticles (the tiny tooth-like border marks around the edge). Far Leaf (Far Maple Leaf): There is a distinct, noticeable gap between the tip of the right-hand maple leaf and the rim denticles. All information provided herein is considered accurate. It is the buyer's responsibility to verify its accurateness. As shown and as is. The pictures are part of the description. Pickup category timeslot {A}