1916 Doubled Die Obverse Buffalo Nickel

mnmcoin · February 26, 2006 12:28PM

Anyone have any pricing info on this coin...perhaps around the XF45 grade? I have a good customer/friend that came across one (its actually a great story...how he got it and all) I'll post the pic and the story later. He wants to know what they are worth and such...also if he should hang on to it or sell it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

morris <><

ar18 · February 26, 2006 12:40PM

XF-45, 13k in XF-40, 27k in AU, so maybe 20k, check heritage auction archives.

Shamika · February 26, 2006 12:42PM

Morris,

I'm dieing to here this story. Don't keep us waiting.

rainbowroosie · February 26, 2006 12:51PM

Tell the story.....

mgoodm3 · February 26, 2006 12:53PM

We need story.

DennisH · February 26, 2006 1:15PM

One of the all-time cool coins, so give us details!!!

Please?

DennisH · February 26, 2006 1:23PM

Heritage has sold a total of 19 examples in the last approximately 4 years, ranging in grade from ANACS AG details (acid treated) for $862.50 in January, to a PCGS MS64 for $264,500 last September. The only XF45 they've sold was a PCGS coin in July 2003 for $17,825.

As more recent reference points, a PCGS-25 sold for $12,650 in November and an NGC-55 sold for $34,500 in September. An NGC-50 sold in January 2005 for $25,875.

I would think an attractive. "all there" XF45 would be every bit of $20,000 and most likely more.

Alleyrat · February 26, 2006 1:45PM

Wow, small world. I am that kid that comes with his dad to your shop like every week. Today I got 3 Proof Kennedys and a Mercury from you for like 10 bucks.

It is a very nice double die, that is for sure.

dtkk49a · February 26, 2006 1:55PM

Morris,
I gotta hear the story.

mnmcoin · February 27, 2006 2:07AM

Okay here is the story...

The owner of the coin is a very dear friend of mine whom I met at my shop a couple years ago. He is a Marine and is a super nice guy.

Anyway...While in France serving our country he was out and about one day on R and R. He goes into this small antique type shop and spied some coins in a small wooden box. There were maybe 10 or 15 coins in the box, mostly US but a few older Francs and the like. He looked through them real quick to see what was in there and asked the shopkeeper how much for the box of coins. The shopkeeper replied "10 cents for what is inside." My friend (does not really know coins that well at this point) figures sounds like a steal...so he paid the man and dumped the coins in a small sack.
About six months later he returns home from France. The coins sit on his dresser for about a year, without so much as a glance. About that year or so later the holidays came up and he visited some family for the holidays. He ends up giving away about half of the coins to his nieces and nephews. After returning home and prompting by numerous conversation at the holiday dinner table he decides to go through the coins with an older Red Book he came across.
Sure enough after going passed a few Mercury dimes and Lincoln Cents he comes across a Buffalo nickel. After looking through the Red Book he figures it must be a common 1936 or 1937 date, but to his suprise it is a 1916. That was enough to get his excitement level up. But it didn't stop there...he looks closely at the date and spies something peculiar about the coin...it looks odd so he puts an old magnifier to it and he seems some sort of doubled image. He glances back at the Red Book and sure enough some sort of doubled variety is listed and he compares the close up images in the book with his coin and decides it is very close to the picture from what he can see.
After that was a myriad of events, none too exciting and it currently resides in an NGC XF45 holder. He just got from country for the last time for the Marines and oddly enough wants to do some traveling...so he is hem-hawing on selling it.

I will try and post a pic within the next few days.

morris <><

ps, I know this sound like some silly ebay story...but I know him well and it is just crazy enough to be true

mgoodm3 · February 27, 2006 2:13AM

Nice cherrypick. Kinda like winning the lottery.

EagleEye · February 27, 2006 3:22AM

Wow! Great story. A story like that will help it sell for a bit more in an auction especialy if they promote it. Coin World, Coinage, Numismatic News, etc may even want to run a short article on it.

If he keeps it, the value will always be there, but if it sells, the memory (of the sale) will be there as well.

$20K is a pretty good windfall, and what if it gets lost, stolen or just forgotten? What a shame that would be!

kranky · February 27, 2006 3:26AM

Indeed, a great story! And to think he could have just as easily handed it over to one of the nieces/nephews and it could have been lost forever.

seanq · February 27, 2006 3:32AM

<< <i>Wow! Great story. A story like that will help it sell for a bit more in an auction especialy if they promote it. Coin World, Coinage, Numismatic News, etc may even want to run a short article on it.

If he keeps it, the value will always be there, but if it sells, the memory (of the sale) will be there as well.

$20K is a pretty good windfall, and what if it gets lost, stolen or just forgotten? What a shame that would be! >>

I remember a few years ago, the sister of a coin dealer bought some old postcards and stamped envelopes at a tag sale for $1 or $2, and inside one of the envelopes was a VF 1916 DDO. I read the story in Coin World, and the coin would up auctioning off for a little over $10k. The hobby papers would absolutely eat this story up, I bet it gets on the front page of at least one of CW of NN.

Sean Reynolds

TwoSides2aCoin · February 27, 2006 4:06AM

such a great story with a tragic ending ........... SLABBED BY WHO ?

LOL

edit to add: by the way fellas, this is one of the most wonderful of all error coins in the United States, in my opinion... and if a guy puts together a type set of high grade coins from 1916

Well, check it out.... the cent, the nickels, two dimes, two quarters, a half and the gold ...

It was a good year for a screw up, eh ? And a great year to build a complete birth year set, if one has the funding.

carl · February 27, 2006 4:33AM

Great story. I just wonder what the coins were that were given away.

morganbarber · February 27, 2006 4:58AM

Great story, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would be dumb enough to take ten cents for a box containing "a few Mercury dimes, lincoln cents and a nickel". Even in France.

Shamika · March 1, 2006 12:27AM

Now there's a healthy investment.

millennium · March 1, 2006 12:33AM

<< <i> Great story, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would be dumb enough to take ten cents for a box containing "a few Mercury dimes, lincoln cents and a nickel". Even in France. >>

There might be more to this story, than we are going to find out.....

1916 Doubled Die Obverse Buffalo Nickel

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