The grades are in... and guess the grade (kinda)

buffnut

The good, the bad, and the disappointing

LINE # CERT # COIN DATE DENOMINATION VARIETY COUNTRY GRADE
1 21645126 1924-S 5C USA F15 (Was hoping for VF, of course)
2 21645127 1913 5C Type 1 USA MS64 (Wow- thought this had a shot at 67!)
3 21645128 1913 5C Type 1 USA MS66 (I still think this one is a proof)
4 21645129 1935-D 5C USA MS65 (Yea! Broken out of a NGC 64 holder)
1 21645138 1936-S 5C USA MS65 (Crossed from a PCI 65 holder)
1 21645132 1937-S 5C USA MS66 (Upgraded from an old PCGS 65 rattler)

All of these were received on 06/23/04 and I got the last of the grades today. Picture links fixed in following posts...
Comments good and bad are appreciated.

100proof1957

not too bad Cornholio !

lordmarcovan

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Comments good or bad, eh?

OK- here's one of each.

The good: you have some nice looking coins, there.

The bad: Angelfire sucks the big one, as do Tripod and other "services" that won't let you share your pictures. What good are they?

Edit: the links I posted worked okay for a sec, and now I see they are showing that stupid Angelfire "we suck so we ain't gonna show you this picture" logo.

dimples

Really nice collection Buffnut! Great photography too.
Congrats on the cross overs And welcome to the forum. Your definitely an asset here

buffnut

Can any buffalo experts tell me what things to look for to authenticate a 1913 buffalo proof? I thought the one I submitted met all of the criterion:

1) Nice full strike in every area
2) A pronounced and clear "F"
3) Satiny luster with pebbly surfaces
4) Thick rims
5) Absolutely zero die polishing marks

Larry Briggs said the coin had "lint marks", which was an indication of a proof, but I have no idea what "lint marks" are. Anyone help me out on that term? Larry was pretty sure that it was a proof, but another dealer said it wasn't because it didn't have a certain die break found on 1913 proofs. I had never heard of that diagnostic before, and wondered where to look for it. I trust Larry Briggs, even though he said my 1935D NGC MS64 buffalo wouldn't upgrade to a 65 at SEGS

buffnut

BTW-
Thanks for all of your kind words and the welcomes. As for the photography, I can't claim those. These were pictures that the sellers made. Four of these six coins were purchased on Ebay, the other two off the net from auctions or dealers. Not to be boastful, but to show that deals can be had if you are careful on Ebay, here are the prices I paid for these coins:

1913 PCGS MS64 (bought raw for $89, still think it's better!)
1913 PCGS MS66 (bought raw for $76)
1924S PCGS F15 (bought raw for $85)
1935D PCGS MS65 (bought as NGC MS64 for $65)
1936S PCGS MS65 (bought as PCI MS65 for $60)
1937S PCGS MS66 (bought as PCGS MS65 for $65)

buffnut

Here is the coin I thought was a proof, and an NGC certified proof 65 follows. It reminds me of the movie Forrest Gump:
"Are you boys twins?"

Sphinx357

I'd recommend hosting your pictures at fotopic.net, they allow massive pictures and hotlinking.

buffnut

And finally, the "MS64"

buffnut

[beavis] TTT.....TP! [/beavis]

DennisH

Wow! The "64" is sweeeeeeeeeeet!!

techeff

Niice Buffalo! Looks much better than a "64" to me...

buffnut

That's what I thought too! The strike is choice, the luster beaming, and has no major marks whatsoever. I own over a dozen PCGS MS66 buffalos and this "64" has the best strike of any of them. I'm perplexed-like.

GoYankees

Was that PCI gold or green labeled?

buffnut

It was an older green holder for the 1936S. I knew it didn't have the strike for 66 but it has that gorgeous watery prooflike luster. I tried to image it, but of course it was hard to capture the prooflike aspect.

buffnut

Any buffalo specialists out there that could help me with the 1913 proof diagnostics? I'm sure the folks at PCGS are seeing, or not seeing, a tell-tale sign that this coin isn't a proof, but I sure would like to know what it is that I'm missing

Numismanic

Nice score on the 35-D!

jhuberdude

Are the edges sharp and clean? A proof will be well centered, and have sharp edges.
Nice coins!
JH

buffnut

The edges are nice and sharp. I'm still wondering about "lint marks" and the die break that is supposed to be a tell tale sign of a 1913 proof? I do realize that it is extremely difficult to distinguish a business strike from a proof on some buffalos...