I have about $40.00 face in dateless buffalo nickels....

DNADave

Should I nic-a-date them? Many have mint marks and many have a shadow of a date that is just barely visible.

What are these worth as is, compared to altered with nic-a-date?

TomB

Well, you may be able to trade them to MANOFCOINS for a PCGS MS66 graded quarter he recently purchased on ebay.

DaveG

Arizona Coin & Jewelry is currently advertising in Coin World that they'll pay 13 cents each for dateless Buffaloes.

itsnotjustme

Widely disperse them by spending in vending machines!

RYK

My son's 18/17-D 5c was an ex-dateless buff that someone nic-a-dated and was eventually sold to me for $200.

cladking

The mint marked coins will sell for 25c each at times.

With the cost of postage the P mint coins are barely worth shipping.

roadrunner

I picked up a dateless 1913-s T.2 that become "attributed" with NOD years ago. But I think I swallowed my local dealer's line that it was only worth a nickel.

roadrunner

wam98

There's an article in Sept. CW's Coin Values, page 12, titled "Old Buffalo nickels are disappearing". Seems there is a demand for dateless Buffs by American Indian artists for the purpose of making all sorts of neat things. One dealer in New Mexico noted that he paid 15 cents each and sells them for 17 1/2 cents dealing in 4000 piece bags.

DaveG

I've mostly seen the dateless Buffaloes made into buttons or belt buckles.

DNADave

After searching through about half of them I've found many, many partial dates. Mostly 1920 and 1923 but I've found the following dates, clear enough to identify, in this "no date" batch.

1913-S Type I (no date at all but a clear "s" mint mark on the mound reverse
1913-D Type I (same thing)
1917
1918
1919
1919-D
1920-S
1924-S
1925-D
1925-S
1926-D
1928-D
1928-S
1934
1934-D

and lots and lots of dateless coins with mintmarks.

I'm definately getting a bottle of nic-a-date, but how do you neutralize it once applied?

BAJJERFAN

Why would anyone even want them, they are low grade junk.

cladking

When I started collecting buffalos from pocket change in 1957 there were
probably around two thirds of the original mintage still in circulation and the
rest had been lost to attrition and collectors. About half of these had the
dates worn off. This affevted primarily the pre 1923 issues but a few of the
later dates were also unreadable. These accumulated in circulation because
collectors wanted only those coins with dates. By 1967 these were not seen
in circulation except the random no date coins.

In the late '90's there was a hot market in the no-dates. Most of these were
going to make buttons and various western wear but I doubt this was consum-
ing more than a couple hundred bags a year. It's a tough thing to get a feel
for and the estimate could be low but this market never appeared to be large.
No dates were wholesaling for up to $13 per roll. Even after these prices came
down there were still people paying premiums for mint marked no dates to look
for keys.

Nice G buffalos are bringing record high prices (~$24) but the no-dates, one digit,
and two digit coins are merely edging up a little.

There should be many millions of no dates around somewhere.

billboat

<< <i>Why would anyone even want them, they are low grade junk. >>



If you can pull a date or partial--good for you. You have nothing to lose---no Buff is junk---dateless or not they are classics---worthless perhaps--but not junk.

BAJJERFAN

Well I guess you could always spend them at the 7-11 but chances are the kid working there won't recognize them as money just like he doesn't know what a Kennedy half, a Susan B and a $2 bill are.

Veep

To anyone who has never done it, Nic-a-Dating Buffs is good fun. There's something about seeing the date appear right before your eyes that feels almost like magic. There's not really any downside to doing it. Its a longshot that you'll find anything exciting, but you never know, as testified by RYK's 18/17. I found a 14-D myself. When I get a batch, I sell the plains to Arizona Coin & Jewelry and Nic-a-Date the mintmarked ones. Its more fun than going to the movies.

laserart

<< <i>To anyone who has never done it, Nic-a-Dating Buffs is good fun. There's something about seeing the date appear right before your eyes that feels almost like magic. There's not really any downside to doing it. Its a longshot that you'll find anything exciting, but you never know, as testified by RYK's 18/17. I found a 14-D myself. When I get a batch, I sell the plains to Arizona Coin & Jewelry and Nic-a-Date the mintmarked ones. Its more fun than going to the movies. >>

I have thousands of Buff nickels but 'till now I never heard of nic-a-dateing. How is it done?

mgoodm3

Nic-a-date is just an acid. It works because of hardening issues with striking whereas the date is a bit harder and more resistant than the surrounding metal.

xbob

<< <i>Nic-a-date is just an acid. It works because of hardening issues with striking whereas the date is a bit harder and more resistant than the surrounding metal. >>



Does it work on Standing Liberty Quarters too?

mgoodm3

I think the silver question has been addressed before and I think it does bad things to silver like turn it black or something.

PerryHall

Doesn't work on silver.

Outhaul

NOD them...if you find nothing worthwhile then spend them

291fifth

About their only use is as "jewelry" items..cuff links, belt buckles, bolo ties, etc. Sell them for whatever you can get and put the money to good use. Dateless buffalos don't even qualify as widgets.

Halfsense

Dateless Buffalo nickels? Have you tried hooking them up with one of the onlilne dating services?

Date.Com


"Single dateless Buffalo desires to meet...."


-donn-