Mushy Buffalo Nickel Strikes
124Spider
Posts: 967 ✭✭✭✭✭
Hi,
I've been looking for a while for, among others, the 1926-D buffalo nickel, in a reasonably high grade (for me, for this particular coin, that means AU58-MS63, heavily price sensitive).
The vast majority of these seem to have horrible strikes on both obverse and reverse, often not even showing the horn on the reverse in uncirculated grades. And the price seems to reflect the assigned grade (when buying at this price point, I always buy already graded, and almost always by PCGS or NGC) much more than the detail/appearance (so that a coin that, were it circulated with exactly the same level of detail, would grade at VF30 still is priced at--and, at auction, goes for--around the price guides' MS63 price for an coin graded MS63).
I finally found an MS63 in an acceptable condition (decent, but certainly not excellent strike on both sides).
But this raises a question in my mind: Once a real mushy strike no longer has any luster (fully circulated, below, say, AU55), does its grade drop like a lead balloon, since it had no details to start with? I'm thinking that a mushy copy just a couple of years old could be well down in the low VF range, or worse.
Am I right?
Thanks.
Comments
Not really.
Strike is certainly more of an issue in uncirculated grades. But the weak strike Buffs are known and it is considered in all grades.
Congratulations for finding an acceptable 1926-D for your collection. "Acceptable" is the key word here.
There are nice 1926-D Buffs out there, but you have to look for them, as they are in the minority.
I have a 1926-D Buff that has an almost pinpoint strike on the obverse. The problem is that the top feather is flat as a pancake on Iron Tail.
The horn on Black Diamond goes about half-way then fades into nothingness.
The coin is XF-45 detailwise, but looks no better that VF.
Par for the course with Buffs.
Pete
Here's the one I just received (NGC MS63; not great, but by far the best I've seen, so I got it):
Yes, some look like the reverse was from a melted wax formed die but any Buffalo from the 20's is going to have a soft strike due to the pressure on the coin press turned down to save the life of the die. The dies were all produced in Philadelphia and then sent most likely by rail to the Branch Mints, only so many were made for each, and the machine operators must have been told to do what you can to extend the die life.
I'll add that the dies that Philadelphia shipped to the branch mints were not stress hardened. That would be the next step before using the die in a press.
It seems that Denver and San Francisco, in preparing dies for use, were not properly hardening them. That would account for the excessive wear encountered on a good portion of Buffalo Nickels.
Of course other factors also contributed to the bad look of the coins.
Pete
I write this response knowing that I do not represent the PCGS/ANA grading standard for strike. Strike is
graded much lower than is luster in determination of grade. And where I differ in grade opinion, strike is much more important than luster because strike is forever, while luster will suffer the ravages of time. 200 year old coins with original mint luster are an anomaly. Buffalo nickels fall somewhere in between with most being over 100 years old.
Certainly there are 1926-D Buffs out there that have great strike, but while they are hard to find, luster will be a more predominant grading criteria. Keep searching for the great strike and know that 26-D's will lose their luster as the years pass.
Perhaps as other posters have claimed, all 26-D Buffs suffer from poor strikes. And if that is the case, the highest graded should be no higher than MS 63 or 64.
OINK
Ah, one of my favorite dates. Anyone care to throw out a guess on this one. Straight graded at ANACS but at what grade? Hint: booming luster that the pic doesn't convey well
www.brunkauctions.com
That's not a bad coin. The strike is in the "nice find" area. Like others said, they are out there.
I don't know what the grade is, but I know what I would call it.
Don't matter what the grading services assign. It's still not a pinpoint or full strike but is in the upper quadrant for a 1926-D. Flat top feather, incomplete LIBERTY, and a lightly struck tail aside the coin is still top notch for the date , mint, and year.
There have been lesser coins graded higher by "market acceptable", or "overall wear".
This coin, IMHOP deserves an MS-65+, and should be given a premium for the strike if it was offered for sale.
Pete
I'm gonna go with 65 on that one.
Collector, occasional seller
@ChrisH821 see image below
www.brunkauctions.com
@savoyspecial Booming luster on an AU50? What?!
That coin needs to be cracked out IMO
Collector, occasional seller
That's what happens when you try to grade a Buffalo Nickel by a picture.
No discoloration on the hip - or anywhere.
How ya gonna know?
Oh well.
Pete