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should i use Nic a Date
coinzzz
Posts: 46 ✭✭✭
a youtuber uses nick a date to see dates on nickels he states that unless you have something very valuable dont do use it do you agree or should you not use it at all on old coins
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IMO, do not use corrosives on coins.
Ferric Chloride
I myself would NEVER pay a premium for a rare dateless overdate buff or even a SLQ, that's been acid treated or attributed. I am in the boat that says leave as be and have the mystery behind them
Steve
As far as I know, it can turn a rare dateless coin into a damaged coin that can be identified and might have some value. But for common coins as far as I'm concerned it ruins them.
So, you can get yourself a pile of dateless Buffalos that have some small value as is, and roll the dice to see if there is anything rare in there. If not, you are left with ruined cons that are worth face value.
The real beneficiary of this situation is the maker of Nic A Date. They benefit no matter what you do or do not find. Sort of like the only sure winner in a gold rush is the guy selling the shovels.
FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANTLY - be sure there aren't other die markers available to identify the date.
If there is no other way to do it, there is zero harm in using Nic A Date. A dateless Buff Nickel might be worth 10 cents if you are lucky. Putting acid on it will make it worth a minimum of 5 cents. What's the risk?
A dateless silver coin is worth melt value. A silver coin treated with acid is worth melt value. What's the risk?
This needs to be read twice.
There are cases of "dateless" buffalo nickels attributed and slabbed as is, due to die markers. And one of those is infinitely more desirable than the same coin with an acid date.
It's nitric acid, what do you think?
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Personally, I'd use A-I on a steak and not Nic-A-Date.
That was the only way I determined a 1918/7 at one time.
This !
I would use it on dateless, mintmarked buffs. Sure enough, found an 18/17. ANACS certified it and it brought good money. There is nothing you can do that will harm a dateless nickel. If you can't have some fun in the hobby, what's the point ?
it is a damaged coin after you use it
it is usually used on buffalo nickels
you can pick out 1916/16 without a date
you can pick out 1913 type 1s without date
you can fill many spots in your buffalo book
you can learn what they look like so you do not buy any unless you want to
a couple will get you a few hundred if you find them .. 18/7-D, 16/16
Some have mentioned using nic-a-date on silver coins. It doesn't work on dateless SLQ's.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
nic-a-date won't but nitric acid should
I've tried nitric acid without success on dateless SLQ.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
concentrated nitric acid or dilute?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qbGaW3BsZ1U
Not sure how strong it was but I used it for testing gold. When I put a drop on a copper cent it would really fizz. While concentrated nitric acid can dissolve silver it doesn't cause the date to appear from my experience.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
The date appears from differential solubility whether with acid or nic A date
Can we see a before and after pic of an SLQ where the date was restored? This would be great for finding an 1918/7-S quarter to use as a filler in a coin album. Fortunately, a dateless 1916 can be identified by the die characteristics and it isn't necessary to restore the date..
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Perhaps add some nose grease after. Sarcasm. No. Don’t use it.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
if you enjoy doing it and its fun for you, have at it that's what this hobby is all about having fun right? plus what harm could you do to a no date nickel
HAPPY COLLECTING
"Have fun with your coins." stated by a well respected Numismatist. Go for it!
It's nitric acid, what do you think?
Actually, the chemical used in Nic-A-Date Date Restorer is Ferric Chloride.
Awhile back someone came on here asking should they treat a dateless 1916/16 Nickel with Nic-A-Date. I say why not? I do recommend practicing on a few dateless Buffs though to get a feel for knowing what you are doing before tackling something like a dateless 1916/16.
I would put my treated 1916/16 (or 1918/17-D) in a CW slab and call it good. No TPG opinion needed far as i'm concerned.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
It's unnecessary to treat the 1916/16 with nick-a-date since it can be easily identified even without the date since it's a DDO and the doubling can be seen in the feathers even on low grade specimens. I understand that the major grading services will slab these dateless coins because they have unique die characteristics.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I had a lot of fun doing that as a kid!
I tried it years ago on some dateless Buffs...3 of them... just to see how it worked... mixed results, but I really did not work at it much. I would not recommend it for coins of value. Cheers, RickO
I've got a horribly worn Buff that I treated with Nic-A-Date that looks really good. Date 1917. Can't even tell that it was treated, just a nice bold date popped out after Nic-A-Dating it. It's part of my Buffalo Nickel collection. I have a regular 1917 with full date to go with it as a companion piece.
As for 1916/16 being attributed as such by die markers, sure. Each to their own, for me though the fun of having a coin like this as a collector is to be able to actually see with my eyes that dramatically doubled date.
I Nic-A-Dated a big herd (about 700 pieces) of dateless Buffs awhile back. Found a number of keys, like 1913-D type 2, 1914-D and 1915-S. No 1913-S type 2 was in the dateless herd, however. Got good bucks for the keys and better dates on ebay. Otherwise, they are 10 cent coins, right?
Nic-A-Date is great stuff. A little goes a long, long ways.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein