Does this Buffalo Nickel go VF20 in your opinion?

BUFFNIXX

DrewU

Seems reasonable for a 26-s given the horn detail.

braddick

I'm not a big fan of grading looser on specific dates and tighter on others. The horn is the horn, and each year/mint should be graded the same.
If that means some dates are scarce or even rare in a given grade, so be it.
Consistency for the type instead of for the date.

ricko

I would call that one F12..... Cheers, RickO

Rexford

@braddick said:
I'm not a big fan of grading looser on specific dates and tighter on others. The horn is the horn, and each year/mint should be graded the same.
If that means some dates are scarce or even rare in a given grade, so be it.
Consistency for the type instead of for the date.

So you think strike quality (and therefore the amount of actual wear on the coin) doesn’t matter?

jesbroken

I cannot imagine this coin grading less than VF20. I've looked at many in PCGS and NGC holders in VF20 and VF25 and this coin should survive. Here is a comparison with Photograde.
Jim

Walkerguy21D

I like it as a F15, but I imagine on any given day a TPG might call it VF for a lucky submitter.
Now getting VF money for that date is another matter.

braddick

@Rexford said:

@braddick said:
I'm not a big fan of grading looser on specific dates and tighter on others. The horn is the horn, and each year/mint should be graded the same.
If that means some dates are scarce or even rare in a given grade, so be it.
Consistency for the type instead of for the date.

So you think strike quality (and therefore the amount of actual wear on the coin) doesn’t matter?

No, it doesn't matter.
A lower-struck coin shouldn't be gifted with a higher grade.
In other words, strike quality affects uncirculated coins. For example, a poorly struck uncirculated coin shouldn't receive a grade of MS67 even if the luster and lack of marks warrant it. Thus a poorly struck circulated coin shouldn't be gifted either.
I know this is an unpopular opinion.

jesbroken

Check out this ebay site of 32 different 26 S Buffs in VF20. Only one has a full Liberty and it has a worse reverse than the OP's. Asking prices from $105 to $285 and sold prices since Sep 2022 have been $100 to $185. I think you might want to rethink your grading standards for this grade Buffalo Nickel anyway. JMO
Jim

Oops. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=1926+S+buffalo+nickel+VF&_sacat=0&_dmd=1&rt=nc&Grade=VF%2020&_dcat=139806

291fifth

I would call it F15. When the rim starts to merge with LIBERTY, as it does on this example, I just can't justify calling it VF20. A nice example, regardless of the grade.

MarkKelley

Nope. F-12 is my grade for it.

braddick

If I had a PCGS Registry of FN12 Buffalo nickels, I would like the set to look evenly matched regardless of date or mintmark.
Some of the dates- notorious for being weakly struck- would be a challenge to find in the grade, and the price would reflect that.
Coins within a series- not within dates and mintmarks- should have a standard.

BUFFNIXX

Thanks for the input all. To me this is a fine-15 or fine plus at best. Too much wear on the buffalo and liberty starting to
merge with the rim. But still a nice coin in its own right.

Vetter

I’ve come to the realization that it really doesn’t matter what I think the grade is on certain buffalos. The TPG are the final say. This coin in question although might and most likely grade VF, it is not one that I would consider for my collection. I am of the old school where a VF had a full horn and I don’t see me changing. The price paid is what I consider the factor anymore, not so much the grade. I’ve been looking for a 26 s for a bit that met my standards. There are a ton out there with 1/4 to 3/4 horn that are graded VF20 to 35 and most other details meet the grade, not the horn. I finally pulled the trigger on this one graded VF30. I was happy with the detail, especially the horn and it’s better than 95% of the others out there when price is factored in. I’m sure the original coin will find a home in someone’s collection and fit in nicely. It’s just not a coin for me. I’ll even pass on coins graded XF to BU with weak strikes and no horn as they don’t fit my collecting strategy. Still a nice coin.

coinkat

Buffalos are about understanding the wide variety in the strikes from various mints- the 25-D and 26-D are miserable- the 26-s is tough as well. VF20 very well could be the right call

Omegaraptor

This is how grading for midgrade 26-S Buffalo Nickels is generally done:

Smudge

I am at 15.

BuffaloIronTail

@291fifth said:
I would call it F15. When the rim starts to merge with LIBERTY, as it does on this example, I just can't justify calling it VF20. A nice example, regardless of the grade.

I thought the same thing. It's an F-15 coin that just misses.

I'll bet it's in a VF-20 holder, though. I told myself that I have to quit what I think the grade is here, and start thinking how the Grading Services will go with it.

And so goes the continuing Buffalo Nickel saga..........

Pete

pursuitofliberty

@Walkerguy21D said:
I like it as a F15, but I imagine on any given day a TPG might call it VF for a lucky submitter.

@291fifth said:
I would call it F15. When the rim starts to merge with LIBERTY, as it does on this example, I just can't justify calling it VF20. A nice example, regardless of the grade.

@BUFFNIXX said:
Thanks for the input all. To me this is a fine-15 or fine plus at best. Too much wear on the buffalo and liberty starting to
merge with the rim. But still a nice coin in its own right.

All of these

124Spider

To me, buffalo nickels in general are very difficult to grade in the middle grades. All the other coins I collect have multiple features that make grading them much less of a crapshoot; buffalo nickels only have the horn, and with the strike being so different from coin to coin (and with the fact that the horn is on the reverse), they're just difficult for me to grade.

The lowest-graded certified buffalo nickels I have are two PCGS-graded VF35, both with a green CAC sticker. And they are very different coins, one being (to my eye) far better in all details, and overall appearance, than the other. The lesser of the two is a 1926-S; assuming it is fairly graded at VF35 (as I think one must when it wears a green CAC sticker), I can believe that OP's nickel could get a VF20. But if my other VF35/CAC is the "fairly-graded" model, I can easily believe that OP's would get a F15.

I guess there may be something to "buy the coin, not the holder"!

Mark

TPRC

yes

rhedden

The way I grade circulated Buffalo nickels vs. the way PCGS/NGC grades them is so far apart that I only collect this series raw in an album. You know what I mean - a VF20 still requires a full horn in my book, regardless of whether the issue is known for weak strike. Why? Because a VF with half of a horn will turn back into an F-12 when I go to sell it.

The disagreement stems from the TPGs taking weak strikes into account, so that a mid-1920s "S" mint with a partial horn can be graded VF25 or even VF30. That's fine with me, as long as it's priced at F-12 money.

As far as MS coins go, who wants to buy a 1926-S in an MS64 holder (at full price) when it has a really mushy strike? Any takers? But, but, but.... it was made that way!

UncleJoe

F-18.5

Joe.

mr1931S

Looks a lot like a graded '21-S I once owned. It was called F15.

DDR

To me, it is a nice F-15. However, I would not be surprised if NGC graded it VF-20.