The 1920-D Buffalo Nickel - An Analysis
BuffaloIronTail
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The 1920-D Buffalo Nickel is indeed a strange issue. With 9,418,000 minted, and a ranking of 33/64 in the lowest to highest mintage, it sits right in the middle of the herd.
This date and mint was never considered rare. Circulated examples are readily available in grades F-15 and below.
This is where it becomes very interesting.
1920-D has the honor of being only one of three occurrences where there were more nickels minted at the San Francisco Mint, the other dates are 1925 and 1928. 1920-D is never really struck badly, and there are full strikes to be found, but they are very rare.
The issue has been overshadowed by lower mintage keys and semi keys for years. The variety coins in the Series also got most of the attention. This created the misconception that the coin was not worth further interest or study by Numismatists and coin collectors.
I studied online images of between 100-200 1920-D Buffs from different sources online. The coins ranged in grade from VF to Mint State and were mostly uncirculated.
The following are my opinions based on what I saw.
The main problem stems from poor die preparation at the Denver Mint. The dies were made at the main U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, then after applying the mint mark, they were shipped to the appropriate branch mint for use. The dies receive a basining (creating the proper radial contour to facilitate proper flow of metal). Then the dies are stress hardened in an annealing furnace to strengthen them for coining.
I noticed a very high percentage of 1920-D Buffs that exhibit heavy flow lines around the periphery of the coin. Flow lines usually appear when a die reaches the end of its life or is used far beyond that and begins to cavitate. This is not the case with 1920-D There is no associated degradation in quality from overused dies. The coins still show an overall decent strike. The dies were wearing fast during normal operation as a result of improper hardening. This also is the reason for a lot of coins that show die cracks.
Heavy flow lines evident on a 1920-D Buffalo Nickel
The second problem involves uneven strikes on some coins. The head and tail on Black Diamond show distinct differences in detail. This varies from coin to coin, but does not affect the total mintage.
The third problem is that the set distance on the dies were dialed back to lengthen die life. This led to a softer and less detailed strike. It did not, however, diminish the detail to an unacceptable degree, as most coins are considered good (passable) strikes. Be aware of the ones that aren't.
Due to the problem discussed above, The top feather on Iron Tail is often weak and less detailed at the bottom. The head of Black Diamond is also less detailed and flat near the rim. There was insufficient metal flow from lack of pressure to completely fill the area. This is a major grading problem which will stop a coin from attaining a full strike. Circulated specimens have a difficult time achieving a VF grade due to this weakness. When assessing a coin for purchase, look first for the coins with full top feather detail and a strong to the tip horn.
1920-D is not a bad coin, it's not a great coin either. As stated above, there are full strike specimens in existence, but they are very rare. 1920-D does have its good points, too. Out of all the coins I studied I did not find any with die clashes. The presses and feeder mechanisms were in top working condition, and this says a lot. Die clashes plague most of the other coins in the series, some dates and mints to a great extent.
Pete
Enjoy the following images:
Comments
Thanks. The kind of post that make this a great forum and learning resource. Your research is appreciated, by me and others I am sure.
The thing that impresses me the most about the third coin you picture above is its amazing die state-one of the earliest I've seen. I believe the weakness seen on the feathers is 100% due to two areas of high relief opposing one another, tho the braid is very well struck up.
Very illuminating. I admit to holding a bias myself: Who would ever think through that the 38-D has a mintage of 2M less, or that a 37-S even less than that! Of course there are other factors that make this date infinitely more difficult, but I hadn't thought about it in terms of pure mintage numbers.
As your images illustrate, strike runs the full spectrum. I'm happy to have acquired the one below, coming from a set from which I was able to acquire several dates. It highlights a number of the factors you mention, particularly the weaker upper feather and lacking detail on the buffalo's head. It does not exhibit the heavy flow lines you reference, which is a personal preference of mine. I always figure this was a nice-for-grade example, which PCGS deemed a 63 (twice).
Great write up, thanks much!!
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You're right, Ron. That's one nice obverse.
Pete
Very informative, thanks for sharing !!!
@BuffaloIronTail ....An excellent and informative analysis, Thank you. Cheers, RickO
Is that coin yours, Pete?
@BuffaloIronTail Thank you for the informative post. Was looking forward to it.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
No Ron........It's a Heritage Coin.
Pete
It's a nice one!
I picked up mine raw September 2017 in the central midwest as part of a three-coin set (with uncirculated '21-P and '23-P's). I thought it seemed pretty nice and is my first Buffalo (and my favorite). I like both the '19-D and '20-D coins in this series.
Tell me how you think this coin rates on the quality and strike spectrum... Gold Shield PCGS #3093391116 AU-55...
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
@BuffaloIronTail
Hello Pete, what would you say about weak D mint mark? Just purchased this coin graded in soapbox as 20P yet please look at the place where mint mark should be.
Very well done my coin brother. I think you did an excellent job on your article👍👍
Here’s my funky 20-d. It has a great strike especially in the central regions. It also has die cracks and a cud Not beautiful but is an interesting MS coin and a great example of the dies they used back in the day.
Holy resurrected thread, Batman!
But it's an interesting one. Here's mine (ANACS AU55), which seems to me to be a pretty decent strike, with weak feathers:
I picked this one up a few months back. PCGS AU50
MichalSPL... why restart this quite old thread? You might have been better off just starting your own new one. For what it is worth... I just do not see any sign of a 'D' Mint Mark. Just looks like die erosion lines to me.
This coin was in my Ray Levoi set that I sold in 2014. It was in a 65+ holder then but was subsequently upgraded. The coin has great luster.
One thing about this coin that is common for 20-D Buffalos is the excess metal on the reverse rims - you can see it in a number of them posted above as well. Kind of a cool feature.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.