Unique Gold Buffalo Nickel is straight graded AU53!!!
Zoins
Posts: 33,863 ✭✭✭✭✭
Wow! We've discussed this coin before but never in its own thread. It's one of the greatest error coins of all time and it's now straight graded! It's amazing that this only came to light in 2019, making it a select member of a group of rarities that became publicly known over a century after it was minted, including the 1870-S Half Dime in 1978.
Last December, I said I thought it should be straight-graded, especially when compared it to the straight-graded PCGS PR65BN defaced Judd-269 1860 Half Dollar in Copper pattern. And now it is!
@Zoins said on December 6, 2021:
The gold buffalo is an amazing coin!It really needs a straight grade! When this coin (the J-269) can get one, that coin should definitely get one!
Given what was happening at the Mint at the time, one has to wonder if the people behind this also did the 1913 Liberty Nickel and 1915 gold Panama-Pacific half dollars.
Mint Error News published this update. There's a lot of great history on this coin in the article along with quotes for a lot of people! I'll just include some from forum members 
https://minterrornews.com/issue63.pdf
@MrEureka said:
A gold Buffalo Nickel is the perfect example of a coin that lies right on the line between something so cool that someone at the Mint would have had to have struck one, and so ridiculously impossible that nobody would have had the nerve to actually do it. Well, here we are!@FredWeinberg said:
When the coin was first shown to me at my table at the Long Beach coin expo, I was stunned and immediately felt that it could be genuine just from visually looking at it. After spending some time and using high magnification I felt very confident that it was genuine and an incredible coin that none of us ever thought existed.@BestGerman said:
The Gold 1913 Buffalo Nickel immediately brought to mind ‘will wonders never cease?’ After decades in the coin business, very little surprises me, but this was a bolt out of the blue!
Comments
Now that’s an error coin I enjoy 😊
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 35 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Test cut should have warranted a "details" grade.
Very cool piece nevertheless!
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This paragraph is from the article and describes other rare, special or unique U.S. coins certified in regular PCGS and/or NGC holders with special circumstances:
“ This surprised me due to the fact that several well known U.S. coins (rare and special patterns, die trials and mint errors) have been certified by PCGS and NGC in regular holders, rather than net graded with details, due to their unique circumstances. A few examples include the unique cancelled 1860 Seated Liberty Half Dollar Pattern in Copper (Judd-269), the unique cancelled 2011-2013 Martha Washington Quarter Test Piece (Judd-2225), the unique 1814 platinum Bust Half (Judd-44a) with punch marks and graffiti, and the Dexter 1804 Dollar with a counterstamp "D" that is worth several million dollars.”
Details
Here is a unique PCGS coin, mentioned in my article, certified by PCGS in a regular slab, not net details, with numerous punch marks and grafitti:
Here is a another unique PCGS coin, mentioned in my article, certified by PCGS in a regular slab, not net details, defaced:
And has the CAC sticker!!
I'm sorry but straight grading coins like those posted above is a disservice to the hobby, akin to straight grading a parking lot coin. That is not to say that these are not cool and unique coins, they are, but they are all damaged post mint.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
And here is a another special PCGS coin, mentioned in my article, certified by PCGS in a regular slab, not net details, with a D punched into the reverse, that just sold for millions of dollars:
Now that's a cool Buffalo!
I’m not saying don’t buy them
For those of you who haven’t read the pdf of this Mint Error News Magazine issue with the Unique Gold Buffalo on the cover, here are the quotes contained in the article from world-class numismatists:
Looks like NGC cared more about having it in one of their holders than they did about the test cut. I'm sure PCGS will one day reciprocate.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
Sold two months ago on January 21st 2021 in PCGS details slab for $78,000
https://coins.ha.com/itm/errors/1913-5c-type-two-buffalo-nickel-struck-on-a-half-eagle-planchet-test-cut-pcgs-genuine-au-details/a/1326-4052.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
Yes. It is mentioned in my article that it sold for 78k in a net graded PCGS holder.
Full disclosure!
Here is the article in Mint Error News:
https://minterrornews.com/discoveries-3-22-22-unique-gold-buffalo-certified-by-ngc-au-53.html
And here is the article in the 269 page pdf issue of Mint Error News:
https://minterrornews.com/issue63.pdf
And now it is in a regular NGC holder!
P.S. It wasn’t sold two months ago, you are a year off.
Sweet ! I thought that was amazing turn around time. 14 months makes more sense
It actually sat in a vault for over a year and only recently ( a few weeks ago) I submitted it to NGC…
It does mention the test cut so I suppose they may have thought that covered it.
Describing a coin correctly should not affect its true value.
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Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Agree, though I will say that coins of this stature become well known in the community.
For example, the Dexter Dollar insert doesn't mention it's been stamped, but presumably all serious buyers know about it.
Andy I guess you are speechless!
Your post is blank.
But here is your quote in the article on the unique Gold Buffalo:
Given that PCGS has straight graded the three PCGS coins posted in this thread, you may be right.
@Zoins
The PCGS 1814 unique platinum Bust Half which has punch marks and graffiti, is not noted on the insert either.
Very true! People still value the coin even though it's been punched so much! And it was still owned by the great collector Virgil Brand!
Wonder what great collector will end up with the gold Buffalo! This one is much more pristine than that one!
@Zoins
JAMES HALPERIN, Co-Chairman of the Board of HERITAGE AUCTIONS, one of the greatest numismatists of all time, made me start to think about the pedigree of this unique Gold Buffalo.
I am privy to the entire story of how it was discovered. I am not at liberty to spill the beans. If a previous owner wants to share more that is his option. It was not found in change nor discovered in a junk box.
Several of us are attempting to conduct more research on the origins of this Gold Buffalo.
Here is James Halperin’s quote in the Mint Error News article on the Gold Buffalo:
I agree wholeheartedly with this.
It's what they did with Gold to make sure it wasn't like a Racketeer Nickel.
Pete
It would be fascinating to learn more about the story. If the story was indeed related to the 1913 Liberty nickels, interest in this could go through the roof: unique, gold, related to one of the greatest US coins, of which 5 exist. I could see this going for more than a million without the story, and even more so with it.
@Byers ... Such a tease.... Now I will wake up nights, wondering about 'the rest of the story' on the gold Buffalo nickel....
.... Inquiring minds want to know.... Cheers, RickO
@ricko
It’s certainly a fascinating, unique U.S. gold coin that’s a piece de caprice. Whether struck as an intentional mint error, or as a presentation piece to a Mint official or famous numismatist…
@Byers... Thanks for the descriptive 'potentials'.... added to the length of time it remained unknown... Well, I see likely answers.... Cheers, RickO
Did the custom holder made for five 1913 Liberty 5c include a hole for Gold 5c ?
I seem to recall there was a empty custom holder that sold a few years ago
I guess I answered this myself:
https://coins.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/other-collectibles/-c-1920-leather-coin-holder-for-the-original-1913-liberty-nickels/a/1260-15073.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
Does the "grade" AU or Details really matter on a unique coin like that? I dont think so
@ricko
More extensive research is currently being done on this piece…
@LindyS
Fascinating original custom leather display case for the 1913 Liberty Head Nickels.
So if I understand this correctly, 2006 wasn't the first year a gold Buffalo was made at the mint?
Jokes aside, that is really, really awesome.
Custom album maker and numismatic photographer, see my portfolio here: (http://www.donahuenumismatics.com/).
And here I was, scrolling down looking for your comment.
Tom
Z
In a perfect world, it wouldn't matter what it's called. The coin is what it is. But in the world we live in, labels matter.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
@MrEureka said:
“In a perfect world, it wouldn't matter what it's called. The coin is what it is. But in the world we live in, labels matter.”
Ofcourse labels matter!!
Recently a 1943 Copper Cent that was originally certified net details EF scratched, in a NGC holder………
Was submitted to PCGS and not only upgraded to AU 50, but also got into a regular holder, and sold for 300k by GC.
So obviously yes!
Labels matter!
Very Informative 1943 Copper Cent post !!!
I wonder if PCGS Gold Shield had straight graded the Golden Bison it would have hammered well above $78,000 in January 21, 2021 ?
Of course it would sell for more! Reality is that more people want to buy something with the value baked into the grade than the value of the coin itself. The $78k price was an under the radar screaming deal I don't expect to be repeated. Given that the coin is unique, gold, and the mark is to the edge, it should be worth more than the gold Indian head cents, of which 6 exist. So instead of $73,000, it could have sold for $300k with a straight grade.
.
obviously we can only speculate but as someone else mentioned, we'll probably find out one day.
I really don't understand the cut. My neighbor with his xrf gun could determine content.
Obvious answer!
Here is more info on the 1943 Copper Cent:
First it is net detail scratched XF slabbed NGC:
Then it is net detail cleaned AU slabbed NGC,
And did NOT meet the reserve of 135k in a Stacks Bowers Auction in the net detail slab!!
So…. Not sold at 135k reserve net detail holder!!
Then PCGS slabbed it straight grade AU 50 and GC sells it for 300k!!
Obvious answer!
@Zoins stated:
“ Of course it would sell for more! Reality is that more people want to buy something with the value baked into the grade than the value of the coin itself. The $78k price was an under the radar screaming deal I don't expect to be repeated. Given that the coin is unique, gold, and the mark is to the edge, it should be worth more than the gold Indian head cents, of which 6 exist. So instead of $73,000, it could have sold for $300k with a straight grade.”
I feel that it would have sold for 300k straight graded for 3 obvious reasons:
•2 of the 6 known gold Indian Cents have sold for as high as 253k and 276k.
• The Gold Buffalo is unique.
• The example I gave in great detail in my post above, illustrates what occured when a net graded 1943 Cent did not make the reserve of 135k, but once straight graded realized 300k!!
Am I the only one who has an issue with obvious problem coins getting straight grades on a cross or resub just because they're rare?
RIP Mom- 1932-2012
It is what it is. Andy Lustig said it best and is one of the most respected dealers out there:
“ In a perfect world, it wouldn't matter what it's called. The coin is what it is. But in the world we live in, labels matter.”
I have handled 3 of the 6 gold Indian Head Cents, one of them 3 times.
These exotic coins ( and others) which are pieces de caprice, are my wheelhouse.
The unique Gold Buffalo is an amazing unique discovery!
Not in 1920
Exactly.
Likely the cut is a century old.
Here is part of the article regarding the test cut:
The coin still retained considerable original luster, almost exhibiting a matte surface. Here was an unknown Gold Buffalo Nickel, slightly circulated with a test cut on the reverse, indicating it had been struck on a solid gold planchet.
Although is is impossible to know for sure, the test cut was probably made decades ago before the formation of coin grading companies and the technology to analyze a coin non-invasively. Test cuts were often made on older coins to determine their metal content.
Absolutly true!
I don't know what all the fuss is about damage. Geeze. We all know that upper crusty rare coins are given more leeway.
I'm still REAL suspicious as to why the coin is AU-53. I really don't think that it was passed around and around like a Mardi Gras ferris wheel horse.
Pete