Another 1921 S Buffalo Nickel to ponder
Vetter
Posts: 916 ✭✭✭✭✭
I’ve had a few people tell me this 1921 S grades no better than VF20 and might be a F15. I disagree and feel it should be a VF35. Having the tip of the horn should bump it a little. Am I wrong in this thinking. By the way, it’s in a NGC holder cleaned genuine and I’m grading as if there are no problems so no net grade or down grade. I do understand it will net lower but I’m just looking for a straight grade. Thanks.
Members I have done business with:
Silverman68, jfoot13, GAB, ricman, Smittys, scrapman1077, RyGuy, Connecticoin, Meltdown, VikingDude, Peaceman, Patches and more.
Silverman68, jfoot13, GAB, ricman, Smittys, scrapman1077, RyGuy, Connecticoin, Meltdown, VikingDude, Peaceman, Patches and more.
0
Comments
In terms of wear, I’d go with VF30.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Any 21-S in VF is a winner! Looks VF30
100% Positive BST transactions
I will certainly agree with the VF30 assessment in terms of wear. Cheers, RickO
Very nice coin, sorry about the cleaning. I would say 30 or 35.
Complete Set of Chopmarked Trade Dollars
Carson City Silver Dollars Complete 1870-1893http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase.aspx?sc=2722"
I like it as a 35. It's struck better than most for the date and mint. with a decent strike on both sides. Top feather is better than most as far as detail goes.
At any rate, a solid upper VF coin.
Pete
PCGS VF-35 Tail and Hip
Pete
It appears to me to be a VF30 nearly exactly, but might make a VF35, but not likely lower than 30.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I think you hit the nail on the head with a VF35 assessment.
In my experience, PCGS and NGC are both liberal when it comes to grading 1921-S, 1923-S, 1924-S, and 1926-S nickels due to the expected striking weakness. If it were not for the cleaning, I think they would go toward the high end of the grade range mentioned above due to the tip of the horn showing.
There was a time, long ago, when a VF20 had to have a full horn. Strike deficiencies weren't taken into account back then. The horn is is BS for many dates-a lot of them never had a full horn when they were struck.
There is a time (in the present day) when a Buff still needs a full horn to be a VF. It's the moment you try to sell it to someone at a show.
My '21-S is an NGC F15. Has half a horn plus a little so if your coin is not at least a VF 20 from wear standpoint?...something is terribly wrong.Opinion.
Cleaned? What makes them think that would be my question for them.
I broke my '21-S out of it's NGC holder and put it in my blue Whitman with the rest of the herd. Still have the holder. Will serve as proof of "fine" if someone tries to tell me my coin is only a good.lol
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
Sometimes it can be difficult to detect cleaning in images, as opposed to having the coin in hand, tilting and rotating it under a light.
I trust NGC’s sight-seen opinion. But if I had to guess from the image, I’d go primarily with the lighter areas at portions of the left and right obverse periphery as well as above the buffalo’s head on the reverse.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
okay mr. Feld. The OP's '21-S looks very nice for being a deemed to be cleaned coin by TPG is all I'm really saying. I would crack it out of holder if mine and I already didn't have a nice example of this date in my Whitman.
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
I think it looks pretty nice too, but it might look very different in hand. Even the best images, don’t necessarily tell the whole story.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
IMO, the wear grade would be VF-30.
Real nice coin, VF-35
Solid VF35 . . . should be problem free and a real treasure . . . . . .
Drunner
I'm sure you are correct.
It kind of looks like this coin:
(Graded XF40 by PCGS)
peacockcoins
Referencing the strike issue with many Buffs I once had a 1918-D/7 that was an XF-AU but was missing the last 1/3 of the horn due to a localized poor strike on the bison's head and corresponding tip of the uppermost feather on the obverse. This was in the early eighties before strike was taken into account so the coin graded Fine even tho it had traces of luster remaining.
That's the way it was back then. There were just not enough coins to go around because of the strike issue. I was (and still am) a staunch believer in the "full Horn" thing.
I hemmed and hawed and with disgust, I had to accept it. Purest that I am.
"Market Acceptable" and "Overall wear" became the new by-words. I often think of the obviously uncirculated Buffs with no full horn, or the greasy looking reverses that show no wear.
That's how I forced myself to accept the whole thing.
Pete
I paid fine money for it and sold it as a fine. I sure wish I still had that coin. It had such light wear you could clearly see the "8" distinctively lying on top of the "7."