Buffalo Nickels

placergold

Have these already surged up in the market or are prices relatively stable right now. I know these are popular but are prices generally reasonable? I know it depends on rarity/grade etc. but compared to Morgans how do they fair? Just purchased an MS67 1937 Buffalo for a type collection and am interested in going a bit further.

Hedger

This is one of the toughest series to put together. I have had a very hard time finding nice examples at my dealer and I am lucky to find earlier dates in extra fine. Be prepared, it will be a very expensive but rewarding endevour. Some of these coins are close to $1000 in fine on tougher dates.

OnlyBuffalos

Prices for common dates in all grades, except for registry coins, are soft/weak and have been for about six months. Key and semi-key dates which are well struck are very difficult to find (more so than usual) as collectors/dealers are "sitting" on them. In mid November, the better date Buffalo nickels like 1913-S Type 2, 1914-D, 1915-S, 1917-S, 1918-D, 1919-D, 1920-D, 1921-S, 1924-S, 1926-D, 1926-S, 1927-D, three-leg, etc. in XF to AU (properly graded with strong strikes) and MS63/MS64 could not be acquired at less than 125% or more of greysheet ask. That percentage is now closer to 150% but they must have strong strikes. Prices for MS65 and up for the aforementioned dates remain very strong for well-struck examples and are literally all over the board premium-wise. Key and semi-keys which do not have full stikes do not demand these high premiums. Strike is very important currently in setting a price-point.

For example, in the Heritage Signature sale in December a well struck PCGS MS64 1921-S which has an ask price of $2,550 sold for $5,750. This was a very nice coin with only minor weakness but IMO was not an MS65 coin. There are some other sales like this but not very many as the better stuff is not available for public sale.

Prethen

Do any of you Buffalo-oriented folks have a response for this thread? Thanks.

Shamika

While this series in mint state is very expensive and will likely continue to rise in price (albeit slowly), circulated grades are actually quite will priced. There are a few very expensive dates, but in general this set is doable in VF.

placergold

Thats what I thought...the buffalos are hard to aquire in the upper mint state levels and that there are a lot of key/semi-keys that will be very tough. I know the 1937 MS67 I just picked up is one of the more common years but the next step up is 12k!! I picked it up last night on the Heritage auction for 260.00. I'ts an NGC with "Pittsburgh Collection" on it.

OnlyBuffalos

Prethen, I think Shamika gave an accurate concise answer/advice.

For many years Buffalo nickels were graded based on the quality of the horn. While that works for many coins struck at the Philadelphia mint, it fails as a grading refence for coins struck in Denver and San Francisco in the teens and twenties. The S and D coins should be graded based on overall wear. There will be some uncirculated coins which appear with no trace of a horn, there will be some with very mushy strikes, there will be some with no definition to the buffalo's shoulder, etc. To the new collector (and to even many advanced collectors), grading will appear to be very arbitrary for these mint marked coins.

You will also notice a difference in what is important grade-wise between the grading services, but the services are for the large part consistent to their own grading standards. PCGS coins in higher grades will sell in the majority of circumstances for more. I believe that most PCGS coins are graded to stricter standards than other third party graded coins. There are exceptions and bargains can be found on occasion.

What to do if you want to collect buffalos? The definitive publication on Buffalos was written by Lange. It is widely available and every serious collector of Buffalos should have access to the book. Determine what grade you wish to collect. Start by looking at auction histories on Heritage and Teletrade to get a feel for what coins look like in the grade you select by date. Find a collecting mentor who can provide guidance. Look at as many coins in person as possible before you spent much money. Learn the grading differences between PCGS, NGC and ANACS, etc. - they are many times different in the dates that are not well-struck.

Be very cautious buying raw Buffalos on eBay. Most eBay raw coins are not accurately graded. Many have been cleaned.

Remember that grading is subjective and that many Buffalo dates are prime examples of subjectivity in action. Successfully collecting Buffalo nickels will take a bit more work up-front but once done it can lead to an area of coin collecting which can be very enjoyable. Good luck.