Grading Buffalo Nickels

OnlyBuffalos

What criteria do the graders use to assign grades to buffalo nickel dates that are typically poorly struck? If all things are equal, will an exceptional strike result in a better grade?

homerunhall

For Mint State Buffalos (actually all Mint State coins) the PCGS standard is that a MS65 coin must be "sharply struck". So a flat strike 1923-S, for example, is not going to be a MS65. Now, we realize there aren't any 1923-S Buffalos that look like a 1938-D, so a little leway is given as to what constitutes a "sharp strike." If that 1923-S has the design details evident, then it can be considered sharply struck, as opposed to that 1938-D 110% fully struck look.

For lower Mint State grades the strike is a proportionate factor. For circulated grades (of which we don't do a lot) the "proportionate" concept also applies.

This probably all sounds very subjective and it is. A lot of the grading process is relative...graders mentally comparing the coin at hand with all previous examples they've seen.

David