What would you say a no-date 1913 Type 1 Buffalo nickel is worth?

lordmarcovan · April 30, 2015 5:03PM

Numismedia trends gives $9 as G4 price, which is the lowest reference I can find.

Cut that in half for AG3 = $4.50.

In half again for FR02 = $2.25.

In half again for PO01 = $1.125.

But that reasoning might not hold up, I know.

And these aren't what I'd call PO01 coins. I have a bunch of them I bought a while back to make custom elongated nickels, but never got that project off the ground.

They're OK, detail-wise. No problems or acid treatment or damage.

Just dateless.

I'm sure the unit price is under $1.00 per coin (probably a lot less), but realistically, what would you call itt?

Under 50c per coin? Surely there must be some market for these Type 1 no-date pieces, either from the Hobo nickel folks or jewelry craftspeople?

I have a hundred of these things left. They should all be P-mints.

This lot actually already sold on eBay, but the winning bidder was in China and I had unthinkingly offered my customary free worldwide shipping.

It would've cost more than the closing price to ship them! So I canceled the sale, apologized, and gave him his money back.

TopographicOceans · April 30, 2015 5:31PM

Well there are more Type 1's than 2's, but the 1's are cooler being a single year issue.
Since your the one who sold them you would know what the market price is better than anyone else.

I don't know what your listing said, but I assume you ship single coins world wide and didn't take a roll into account.
You should list a nominal S/H charge and then use eBay's global shipping.
But still that wasn't the buyers issue, so you have to be more careful or you'll be the one disappointing the Chinese coin buyers instead of the other way around.

Remember you're one of the good guys.

291fifth · April 30, 2015 7:09PM

I don't know if it is still the case, but the market price for dateless nickels used to be determined by the "belt and buckle" market, not the numismatic market. I don't know what that market is presently paying for dateless Buffalo nickels. I doubt if they cared about them being type I or type II.

lordmarcovan · April 30, 2015 7:12PM

<< <i>I don't know what your listing said, but I assume you ship single coins world wide and didn't take a roll into account.
You should list a nominal S/H charge and then use eBay's global shipping.
But still that wasn't the buyers issue, so you have to be more careful or you'll be the one disappointing the Chinese coin buyers instead of the other way around.

Remember you're one of the good guys. >>

Exactly. I usually ship single coins and forgot to take the weight of this lot into account. (It's more than a roll. It's two and half rolls, actually.) I gave the Chinese bidder a profuse apology for the misunderstanding and a $3 gift on top of his refund, so he said he was OK with the cancellation. Have never used eBay's Global Shipping program before because it didn't used to apply to coins, and again, I am accustomed to shipping single, inexpensive pieces, so it's been worth my while to offer free world shipping as an incentive, even though it eats a goodly chunk of the small proceeds sometimes. But I'm not gonna pay more than an item's price just to ship it!

So far all of my transactions with China (more selling than buying) have gone well, though one took long enough to worry both the buyer and I.

I reckon maybe I'll ask somewhere around a quarter apiece for these in bulk, which should be fair? They'll ship domestically in a small Flat Rate Priority box for around six bucks.

ricko · May 1, 2015 12:12AM

I believe the jewelry people will be the best market for these LordM.... I see a lot of dateless buffs at shows... earrings, rings, hat bands, belts etc., and .50-.75 cents should be viable... Cheers, RickO

keets · May 1, 2015 1:35AM

wholesale dateless is about a dime, the fact that it's a T.1 simply means you can tell the date without seeing a date. this is a case of a coin that might have a quoted price in a guide but there is no one willing to buy them at that price.

sittingbull · May 1, 2015 3:10AM

Type one no dates sell for .30$-.40$ each in rolls of 40. They are worth quite a bit more than typical no dates.

mr1931S · May 1, 2015 3:14AM

I would say a roll of dateless 1913 Type I's (Phillies) are worth about $5,or 12-1/2 cents apiece.The mintmarked dateless ones are worth considerably more,maybe $1-2 apiece for the 'D's and $3-5 apiece for the 'S's.

joeykoins · May 2, 2015 4:00AM

I love the "dateless buffs"! I Nic-a-date them. I love the date appearing before your very eyes. or the mint mark too. As I mentioned numerous times on the Forum, I have 2 typ.2 13s's, 1 typ.2 13d a couple typ.1 13s's, 4 14d's. About 5 years ago, I paid $6 a roll. My friend slabbed a "acid treated"18/7. He sold it for $200.00! I figure, It's better than making jewelry out of them.