Revealing dates on Buffalos
Timidpenny
Posts: 31 ✭
Hi everyone,
So on my webiste http://www.timidpenny.com
Im trying to include as many ways to handle,store, care for coins etc.. I just added that sometimes soaking buffalo nickels in vinegar can bring the date back out on No-Dates. Im wondering if you guys have any other methods or tricks similar to this i could share on my site.
Thank You!
Owner of http://www.timidpenny.com
Tagged:
2
Comments
Hi and Welcome! Your method is less harsh and safer than the normal way to reveal the date. If your way is successful keep it up. The traditional way to bring out the date is a solution called, " Nic-a-date ". It's an actual acid that soaks in the coin where you place the precise drop of acid. Then wait a minute or two than wash off with water. Good luck and be careful using it.
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Wow ive been collecting my whole life, and i own a coin shop. But ive never heard of Nic-a-date! Thanks for the info! Ill check it out. I don't personally like the idea of altering/cleaning coins in anyway but im trying to provide people with any & all information
Owner of http://www.timidpenny.com
Keep in mind, Nic-a-date is only to be used for buffalo nickels where the date is entirely missing. Never use it on any other coin. Esp. If you want value to remain for that certain coin. Also, the Nic-a-date can be used on the reverse of that Dateless buffalo if the mint mark seems to be missing as well.
https://www.jpscorner.com/products/nic-a-date-date?variant=15098675232831&sfdr_ptcid=33726_4_536763916&sfdr_hash=f43482183b70a203a17a539aaefd6d2c&gclid=CjwKCAjwsan5BRAOEiwALzomX9Bw3NGq6iJ553ZwknK8MInBUnZyADscl5Vg3qJutxiWgnoHjO5_NhoCo74QAvD_BwE
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Do you have any pics of a dateless buffalo nickel that has been soaked in vinegar with the date restored? How long do you have to soak it?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Never heard of the vinegar thing.
So vinegar is acetic acid. Nikadate is nitric acid. Pick your poison cause both eat away at the surface of the coin. Just sayin. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
Vinegar is a weaker acid and the effect on a nickel is more gradual so it's easier to control the results.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Does someone here have a few dateless nickels and some vinegar and is willing to conduct an experiment and report the results back to us? If so, that would be great! Also, before and after pics would be very informative.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Yea, they both do damage to a Buff. The vinegar thing takes longer, but the overall "look" of the coin is better.
Damage is damage.
Pete
The vinegar treatment is less aggressive and is not obvious - in many cases, Nic-a-Date use is detectable. Cheers, RickO
Has anyone tried nic-a-date then used vinegar to lessen the obvious dot it makes?
The vinegar thing works! But I was always told you cover the nickels in white vinegar obverse up. Then add 2 or 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide to it. The clear solution will turn blue in about an hour and then you rinse the nickels off with water. It brings the date back and gives the coins a more uniform look then tje big gray or black spot that nic a date leaves
HAPPY COLLECTING
Nik-a-date used FeCl3 (ferric chloride)
Bottom photo is before. Top photo is after. You can definitely see a difference but no date. All I had was apple cider vinegar. Soaked it for 12 hours.
But on the plus side, does the coin smell like apples now?
I have ZERO experience with these methods, but I'm gonna guess that the vinegar solution is similar to soaking in acetone: it will dissolve any organic crud that may be stuck to the surface (dirt, grime, etc.) but not affect the metal at all. Nic-a-date probably eats into the metal a little which could reveal the outlines of worn off dates, but obviously you wouldn't want to soak off any other details in the process.
Successful BST transactions with: Cameonut, Rob41281
Has anyone tried nic-a-date on their garden salad?
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
fwiw, i watched some youtube videos about using certain types of vinegar with buffs and i was impressed with the results vs nic-a-date and its equivalents. certainly more time is involved but the coins i saw looked considerably better, just like the one above.
Nic-A-Date will also work on shield, liberty and Jefferson nickels too. Same metallic composition.
But I doubt you would ever run across a Jefferson nickel that would be worn to the point where you would have to
apply an acidic solution like vinegar or nicadate to bring out the date.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Nic-A-Date is Ferric Chloride and "may cause burns." The weak acetic acid in vinegar works to restore date on Buffalo Nickels? Never heard of that before.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
Vinegar is acetic acid. Just slower and less effective as is non-oxidizing.
If the OPs website wants to be accurate, tell people they are irreparably damaging the coin.
I have tried the vinegar method but with not much success. One out of five coins showed a partial date.
I agree with Pete. Damage is damage. It’s not natural so why do it?
I'm guessing people do it to see what the date is on the coin although I could be wrong.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Which is worse, damaged or dateless?
Sure you can "ruin" a rare coin but without restoring the date it's like it didn't exist in the first place.
To be clear- I am not in favor of revealing the date on a 1916 DDO where you don't need the date to ID.
Collector, occasional seller