Is this a good 1914/(3) Buffalo?

Connecticoin

At first glance it looks legit, but at this low grade, I am not so sure. What does the "peanut gallery" think?

mr1931S

Wasn't the 1914/(3) variety delisted a few years ago? As for the OP coin, I don't see the slightest evidence that there is a "4" over a "3" on the piece.

Slade01

The variety was de-designated by many sources, but I would be interested in hearing from @CaptHenway on his position at this time.

yspsales

I thought they brought it back.

jmlanzaf

@yspsales said:
I thought they brought it back.

I think they brought it back. Greysheet still lists it and it pops up in major auctions without an asterisk. But I'm not sure as I haven't submitted the one I have. I found it right before it was delisted/suspended.

jmlanzaf

The OP"s coin doesn't look right to me in that photo. That 4 is very clear without the remnant underneath.

CaptHenway

It appears to be one of the legitimate 1914/3 dies, but the coin is so worn I don't think you could ever be sure.

In the manuscript of my book on the cents of 1922 I state that on certain varieties that come with both a "Faint D" and a "No D" the lower grade coins can be impossible to attribute as one or the other.

telephoto1

It appears to be one of the legitimate 1914/3 dies, but the coin is so worn I don't think you could ever be sure.

I agree. Comparing the area just right of the top of the 4 with the picture of the higher grade example, the best I can come up with is that it might be. Laying aside the wear on the OP coin, this might also be a later die stage example imo. Better focused pics would help.

Connecticoin

Thanks for the input. Looking back at the Wexler Buffalo Nickel reference, looks like it could be DDO-002 (which would be under FS-014.87 or FS-101), or the de-listed DDO-004. Unfortunately, I think it is likely the latter.

dcarr

I think there is enough there to attribute it as a legitimate 4/3.
But in that condition the value is modest ($30 is my un-researched guess).

Connecticoin

@dcarr said:
I think there is enough there to attribute it as a legitimate 4/3.
But in that condition the value is modest ($30 is my un-researched guess).

If it can be attributed as a FS-101, price guide indicates $400 in G4. Now that may not be what it would sell for, but most likely it would be north of $30.

dcarr

@Connecticoin said:

@dcarr said:
I think there is enough there to attribute it as a legitimate 4/3.
But in that condition the value is modest ($30 is my un-researched guess).

If it can be attributed as a FS-101, price guide indicates $400 in G4. Now that may not be what it would sell for, but most likely it would be north of $30.

I had an UNC that I cherry-picked out of my own ccollection just after I read about the discovery of these. That was in the 1990s. I sold it at the time for about $1,800. It was officially designated as a new variety discovery of the over-date (I think die 8). It had some obvious die scratching which appeared to be an effort to partially efface the top horizontal bar of the "3". In any case, it was fairly evident as an over-date (as clear as any of the other listed dies). I have not followed the market prices since then.

PS:
I think the subject coin of this thread grades VG-8.

Connecticoin

@dcarr said:

@Connecticoin said:

@dcarr said:
I think there is enough there to attribute it as a legitimate 4/3.
But in that condition the value is modest ($30 is my un-researched guess).

If it can be attributed as a FS-101, price guide indicates $400 in G4. Now that may not be what it would sell for, but most likely it would be north of $30.

I had an UNC that I cherry-picked out of my own ccollection just after I read about the discovery of these. That was in the 1990s. I sold it at the time for about $1,800. It was officially designated as a new variety discovery of the over-date (I think die 8). It had some obvious die scratching which appeared to be an effort to partially efface the top horizontal bar of the "3". In any case, it was fairly evident as an over-date (as clear as any of the other listed dies). I have not followed the market prices since then.

PS:
I think the subject coin of this thread grades VG-8.

I was thinking G-6, but now you are tempting me to try for the attribution - which more likely than not I will end up with a $1 coin in a PCGS holder

PS: if your coin was a 63, it roughly tripled in value since then, more if higher than 63.

Connecticoin

Would be interested to get input from @BuffaloIronTail and/or @BUFFNIXX

messydesk

There are several die pairs that are 4/3-ish. The few that are well-recognized as 4/3 are fairly strong and/or have obvious tooling on the die to try and fix the 3.

There are several listed in Ron Pope's book: https://archive.org/details/buffalonickelsab2006ronp/mode/2up

In low grade, it's going to be hard to verify for both you and a potential buyer.

BuffaloIronTail

It looks VG-8 to me (full date and enough horn for the grade).

I think it would be more so a 14/3 than not.

The book by Pope/Wexler is one of, if not the best reference books on Buffs.

Pete