1930 Buffalo FS-101 AU or MS?

OnWithTheHunt

ricko

@OnWithTheHunt .... Might be a slider due to soft strike, but to me it looks like an AU, probably 58. Nice nickel. Cheers, RickO

coinbuf

From these photos it appears to be mint state, but that would depend on if the luster is unbroken, which I cannot say for sure from these photos.

Shamika

Agree with coinbuf. The coin appears to be MS from the photos and I would grade it 64. But as always there may be friction on the Buffalo's hip which would then make it AU.

ChrisH821

Tough call, leaning towards MS

MFeld

I’m going with AU58, largely due to what looks like slight wear in the (upper central) section of the Indian’s hair, to the left of the spot.
Edited to add:
Based on the difference in color, I’d be surprised if that and a couple of other areas represent weakness in strike, rather than rub.

BuffaloIronTail

The coin is weakly struck (both obverse and reverse). Weakly struck Buffalo Nickels can lead people to confuse wear vs. strike.

That's the eternal problem with the Buffalo series.

Looking down the flank of Black Diamond just to the left of the tail, It looks like there is no wear present. This area is the first place to look for separating sliders and "cabinet wear" from uncirculated specimens.

My opinion is that the coin is Mint State, and probably a 64 specimen.

Pete

jom

I learned many years ago from Bill Fivaz that the best place to look for first wear on a Buffalo nickel (in general) is shown in the picture I modified below.

jom

dcarr

I think it is a nice AU58. I have outlined some areas where there appears to be a little bit of wear:

RobertScotLover

Either way au58 or ms63 you have a winner there

MFeld

@dcarr said:
I think it is a nice AU58. I have outlined some areas where there appears to be a little bit of wear:

I agree, as I think it’s highly doubtful that those areas represent weakness in strike.

BuffaloIronTail

From the PCGS Photograde set:

Match the areas up to these pics.

Both are UNK.

Pete