One of my favorite buffalo nickel varieties here, but the grading?

They say a picture says a thousand words
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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They say a picture says a thousand words
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I think they nailed it - F-12
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
…that’s not what they say…but close
I think it would grade VG10 at PCGS.
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
Using today's grading standards I think it's graded correctly. Has an intact obverse rim. I personally pretty much ignore the horn on the bison in the lower grade ranges.
I'd say f 12 as well. They could have given the ddr, jmo
VG by my standards. The black mark on the reverse is very distracting. Is there really a market for varieties like that in lower grades?
The black aside on the Rev. I'd say F12 is spot on.
It seems that you never know what grade is going to be assigned to Buffalo anymore. Full horns that were once VF are now XF, 1/2 to 3/4 horn VF, the coin pictured and VG’s with partial dates. Oh how the grading standards on Buffalos have changed. I bet you can’t find one 21 s, 24 s or 26 s with a full horn in a VF holder. Many other dates too. It’s a crap shoot anymore with submissions.
Silverman68, jfoot13, GAB, ricman, Smittys, scrapman1077, RyGuy, Connecticoin, Meltdown, VikingDude, Peaceman, Patches and more.
It’s one of mine too. Cherried many back in the day. This is the only one I still have.

Silverman68, jfoot13, GAB, ricman, Smittys, scrapman1077, RyGuy, Connecticoin, Meltdown, VikingDude, Peaceman, Patches and more.
Pay $10 to have a coin graded that's what you get! Anacs is the pits as far as grading or verifying the correct variety. I see an VG coin.... IMHO of 50 plus years in this hobby.I also see other collectors realizing that once again you only get what you pay for!
"That's why I wander and follow La Vie Dansante"
If the grade don't fit, crack and submit.... To paraphrase a legal argument.
Cheers, RickO
It's an F-12 by modern standards although that black mark is distracting.
I'm personally a purist on these, but the market is what it is.
For comparison. Coin on the left ANACS F12 and coin on the right PCGS F12. Interesting.

Silverman68, jfoot13, GAB, ricman, Smittys, scrapman1077, RyGuy, Connecticoin, Meltdown, VikingDude, Peaceman, Patches and more.
I'd say the PCGS coin is undergraded if the obverse is as good as the reverse.
Welcome to the madhouse!
Pete
My first snap guess was VG-10. But it could pass for a F-12 and be correctly graded. It has a little less "meat" than the PCGS coin but still would sneak in IMHOP.
Pete
I think F12 is an appropriate, if maxed out, grade.
Both of the coins pictured above have 2/3 of a horn. The coin on the left is just a crummy strike.
H! It's kindda rare to find a FULL HORN in an XF holder for those dates!
That's because many of those dates never had a full horn when struck. And it's the biggest reason the "horn thing" never should have been used as a grading criterion in the first place.
Yeap!
I don't think standards have changed, It's just the deception that has changed. I would think varieties would be graded conservatively wouldn't you ?
I vehemently disagree! Grading standards HAVE changed in my opinion. Just look thru an old Brown and Dunn grading guide or the original Photograde by James Ruddy to verify.
Agree x100
Also, different grading companies have different internal standards.
That does not mean the coin is graded incorrectly by their standards.
Different dates would have different grading standards if grading by the horn. You just can't grade a well struck and decent die state issue like the 1915 with something like a 1924-S or 1926-D. Mercury dimes aren't graded by the strength of the center bands and Standing Liberty quarters aren't graded by the amount of head detail which are two points of the design that are often lacking on those two designs so I don't think a Buffalo nickel should be graded by an often inherently weak detail such as the horn.
It depends upon whose grading standards you use. I have an original Ruddy Photograde. Assigned grades are only relevant to those who wish to pass them along to another receptive individual.
Brown and Dunn, Photograde, and the ANA grading guide were widely accepted to determine the grade of a coin before the advent of slabbing.
I wonder if this coin should have gotten a details grade for what looks to me to be environmental damage
on the reverse. That black ugly stuff sure looks like "ED" to me , and it is not even mentioned.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"