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Bought an altered Buffalo today. Story with a moral.
cartwheel
Posts: 845 ✭
Well, I went over to my local dealer today and, among other things, bought a very nice raw XF45 1913-S T2 Buffalo nickel. After I got home, I took it out of the flip and was preparing to put it in a 2x2, when I remembered a discussion I read here on embossed mint marks. So, I got out the 5x and took a look at the edge and, sure enough, there was a sign of disruption directly out on the edge from the mint mark. Looked at it with a 10x, and I could definitely see a football-shaped spot there. Took it back to the dealer, and he examined it and agreed it was probably embossed. He said it was the best embossing job he had ever seen, as the mint mark looked perfect and the spot wasn't filed; rather it looked just as smooth as the rest of the edge. He did, of course, give me a full refund. He knows the person who sold this one (and a bunch of other dates), and will try to get his money back from the seller. He said the seller had told him the coin was found in circulation, but didn't know when (I'm pretty skeptical of this). The dealer did mention that the coin did, from the looks of the rim, look like a 'P' mint coin. It could have been worse for me; I could have been out the $30 grading fee, too! Pretty disappointing, as this was a nice specimen, and it would have completed my Buffalo nickel date and mint mark set. Moral: don't always rely too heavily on a dealer, and keep reading the forums!
Cartwheel
Cartwheel
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Comments
Hayden
Glad it was a cheap lesson for you, and that your dealer did the right thing.
Good eye!
Guy
Of course, I did purchase it sight-unseen, so I could not examine it till I got it.
I became suspicious at the "look" right away. After taking it to a local coin dealer who is a friend of mine, he advised me to send it back.
I had a guarantee, and when I sent it back to the seller, I advised him that I would purchase the coin if he slabbed it.
Well, he tried.
It came back with an added mintmark, and I saved 200 dollars.
BE VERY CAREFUL WITH BUFF KEYS.
As you can see, this happens to all of us.
Pete