Unusual rims on this Buffalo Nickel- what's going on?
cmerlo1
Posts: 7,923 ✭✭✭✭✭
I bought this in Long Beach over the weekend, because it was cheap and it looked decent. When I got it home and under better light, I also noticed it is an example of RPM-001, which I didn't notice when I bought it. It's my first self-cherrypick 
When I got it lit for photography, I noticed an unusual spot on the obverse and reverse rim that is more beveled than it is on the rest of the coin. This can be seen in front of the Buffalo's head on the reverse and behind the Indian's feathers on the obverse. There also appears to be weirdness on other parts of the rim as well. From the edge the planchet slopes inward, almost like what you'd see on a rim clip.
Any idea what's going on here? I see no signs of filing, tooling, or burring and I'm hoping that isn't the case...
Comments
It could be a wrong planchet or malformed planchet.
What is the weight ?
If the weight is correct, then I would attribute the odd rims to having been very weakly struck.
Diameter across the area in question?
Weight is exactly 5 grams.
Over used dies would be my guess. Most nickels struck in the twenties have die fatigue and the coins are plagued with weak strikes including the rims not filling out properly.
Just over 21mm.
I does have a really weak strike. You can really see it on the obverse.
And reverse. It’s a VERY weak strike for sure.
You are correct about the strike, Dan. The coin is very unevenly struck showing no detail in the central obverse and reverse. Conversely, the peripheral elements are sharply struck.
The planchet itself also is the problem, and I think it was made that way.
Definitely agree that it needs to be weighed.
Pete
A very small clip (disk clip) could have that appearance.
Provided the coin is as-made from the mint, I think I still did well for $25.
The weight of 5 grams is correct for a normal US 5-cent nickel.
So it is likely that the rims are simply the result of weak striking.
Note that the Bison's head is an area of higher relief next the rim, and so the head "steals" metal away from the rim during the strike. So that area of the rim would be narrow and low. And the coin would also appear to be thinner at that location on the edge. You can see the effect on the obverse rim, opposite the Bison's head (to the left of the lower feather).
small clip directly across from it?
You are absolutely right about the bison head stealing metal from the reverse rim there, but the thin obverse rim puzzles me.
How is the die rotation?
The dies are not rotated.
@cmerlo1 Thanks.
The 1920s were a bad decade for Buffalo Nickels and most other coinage. Coins tend to be weakly struck. The only exception seems to be the gold coins.