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Now would you grade this slabbed buffalo nickel
BUFFNIXX
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Take a look at this slabbed 1916 doubled die obverse which was done across the street.
The date is not visible
grades please???



Collector of Buffalo Nickels and other 20th century United States Coinage
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
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I would think that for something like this, an especially rare buffalo nickel, it would have to have a partial date
about 50 percent complete. This is on eBay now and the seller states that the date is not visible.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
It should be about good and no higher IMO.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Good minus is about right. What feather is supposed to be doubled? Hard to see in the photos. (Usually you take better photos.)
Think G-4 is a bit generous. AG-3 to me.
I still don’t get how the 3 graders and the finalizer could come up with a good-4 grade on this!
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Looks like no more than AG 3 to me.... not great pictures... Cheers, RickO
"Poor"
You can barely see the top of an 8 I think. Plus if it is a doubled feather Indian that is the date for it.
Can't acid date it through the plastic slab. Plus it would deteriate the value.
This doubling is unique to the 1916 d die. The ribbon ties and all three feathers are strongly doubled. No date is needed to attribute the variety but I sure wouldn't pay anything close to Good 4 money for it.
It's the Big One, no doubt. Doubling on all feathers, most important along the whole length of the shortest feather behind the Indian's neck, as well as extra-thick braid ribbons. There are some dateless strike doubled coins where the two largest feathers mimic the DDO. Once you've seen a couple of real ones, it almost jumps out at you.
Coin should be treated with date restorer in my opinion. Would it be worth less as an acid date than it is now as a pumped up G 4 with no date? Isn't being able to see the dramatically doubled date the point of owning a coin like this?
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
Looks like someone dug it up and cleaned it. Environmentaly damages is the way I see it.
The ribbon on the Indian's braid will be doubled. Can't see it with these pics. Well, kinda.
Looks like someone dug it up and cleaned it. Environmentaly damages is the way I see it.
Doubtful.Have you ever seen a dug nickel? The OP coin is original.Gobs of wear but original.
Free that date with a dab of Ferric Chloride! A little dab will do you....
Ferric or Ferrous? I can't find my bottle of Nic-a-Date restorer right now...
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
The ribbon ties are doubled and so is the large feather. So you can tell the date and the fact it is a doubled die just by looking and the die characteristics mentioned here.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Here's one I've posted in the past for those asking about diagnostics. It graded Fair-2
[IMG]http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj5/j2fthrs/16-16DDO-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj5/j2fthrs/16-16DDO-1.jpg[/IMG]")
Found my bottle of Nic-A-Date.Chemical used for nickel date restoration is Ferric Chloride.
I think the OP's piece would be worth more,not less, if the date was restored.The piece is certainly not a "G 4" as the label says.Not even "AG 3."
The date should have four full digits visible to be G 4?
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
Yes I do think a well done restoration is worth more than a dateless piece. Just want to see that doubled date.
worth more to me with a restored numerals. On a piece like this you would have to be careful to rinse the coin
thoroughly after applying the inc-a-date. If not rinsed well the date area can get very dark and ugly.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
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there are other solutions besides nicadate.
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right you are, and they actually do a better job than nicadate for what I have seen.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
I've seen a dealer use an ipad for looking up price specs on buffalo nickels at a local show once.
I'm amazed that got a Good. I'd have trouble even getting to AG.
LRC Numismatics eBay listings:
http://stores.ebay.com/lrcnumismatics
Full rims and half a horn. Why wouldn't that be a good?
A Good with no date?????????????????? Can't be-fair at best. Even an AG should have SOMETHING showing. This coin is simply grossly overgraded.
1916 quarters have been graded by pcgd as good (even without a date).
FR02.5 to me.
They have? I'd never pay a Good-4 price for a coin without a date.
Actually as koynequest has pointed out above I have seen dateless standing liberty quarters graded g04 with no date.
The 1923s standing liberty quarter I have seen many times graded fine-12 with only part of the 3 showing but the rest of the coin details fairly strong. You have to allow for exceptions for these type one slq's
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Perhaps but I still wouldn't pay Good-04 money for ANY coin without a date regardless of who graded it. That would especially apply to the 16/16, where the date is the prime focal point for the variety.
If I found a coin like this raw I would definitely restore it. One good way to do it is with a quick nic-a-date rinse.
But before applying the acid I would put masking tape around the date so that only the date area is restored. I have
seen this done and it look great. And then rinsing is the key. I have seen many attempted restorations ruined because
the nic-a-dae was not rinsed off, turning the affected area an ugly black color.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
It sold for $2500! Go figure? Maybe the new owner will bust it out and restore the date!
Thanks to all who posted here.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
There are so many here who would have told the collector, "dont' bother having that nickel graded. It's worn out and near worthless. Why waste your time on such nonsense?" Now look. Sold for over 2K (with a probable $50.00 grading fee. Net profit. Work your coins. Get them graded. That is logical and sound advice that is easily blown off yet shouldn't be.
I understand there are folks on a budget, but I just cant see paying for coins that are a specific variety, but you cant see the variety. Yes, I agree the doubled feather on the 16 shows its this , but if I am buying a 16 ddo, I want to see the date doubled, same as like the with the 73 Double liberty indian cent with no letters in liberty visible. Or even the dateless 16 slq.
several others. On the fence like on the chain cent, as its a whole different design, but I would never buy one myself with out a date.
With the chain on the back why do you need a date?
Misread post.
I see what may be a fragment of the 19 on the upper left. Unfortunately, that's not the side that counts.
If that sold for 2 grand then it brought half of what a real Good-04 with a partial date would bring and not too far off what an acid date is worth.
Here is a pcgs good-04 1916/1916 buffalo nickel.

photo courtesy of koynekwest
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
there are other solutions besides nicadate.
I would be interested in what those solutions are. Nic-A--Date allows the date to be exposed but does leave a dark area when it contacted the coin sometimes so that's a drawback for its use.
Other solutions,hopefully better,are?
Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there
is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." --- Gospel of Thomas (Lamdin translation)
looks like an ag 3 to me as well. jmo
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Nic-a-date does a great job provided the coin is well rinsed after the acid application. As long as this is done there is no
problem with the restoration. Some coins though do not restore well and even repeated appliations of the act do not
yield good results.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Correct, I have acid dated many nickels, it does not always leave a leave a mark if rinsed off. However, it is not a 100% foolproof process.
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The person who bought it got a good deal and paid what the coin is worth. The rule of "buy the coin and not the holder" applies here. Now the person has a slabbed G-4 in a major TPG holder to flash around. If the person wants to sell it, someone who does not know better will pay G-4 money for an AG-3 or less coin.
That said.............leave the coin alone. The diagnostics tell what it is. Trying to restore it would ruin the surface.
Pete
Acid dates sell for around a grand. That's roughly the value I'd attach to a dateless coin-maybe $1500 tops. It's the date doubling that MAKES this coin. I'd save up my $$ to buy one with at least a partial date.
FWIW, there's an NGC-4 that looks a lot like the OP on ebay now. No pic of slab, so can't tell if it's the same one. Scrolling down to the large photo, there appears to be the top corner of "19" visible, but as I said in an earlier post, that's not the side that counts. Also, I have no connection to the auction, just posting because this thread seems to be drawing a lot of interest.
Think BuffaloIronTail is right, and to prove the point it is now back for sale on "flea bay” for $3250!! A dealer paid
$2500 and is trying to get a quick $750 profit. Will watch that one to see if he makes a score. But I would not pay that kind of money for a G4 coin unless it had at least some of the doubled 6 showing.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Here is the reverse of the nice good 1916 doubled die provided by koynekqwest above

a solid vg08 IMO. If this is slabbed as a good the owner got a real deal on this one.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
What are those options? I have wanted to play with the stuff with a few of the dateless nickels I have, but if something is better, LMK.
I would never pass on a an opportunity to cherry pick and flip.
This particular coin doesn't do much for me and I think those are the king daddy cools of DDO's.