Buffalo Nickel Errors
D
Posts: 1,997 ✭✭✭
Why do Buffalo Nickels seem to be so error-ridden?(Rotations, laminations, etc.) Is there a specific reason for so many errors in this specific issue? I see far fewer errors on other coinage of the same period.
-D
-D
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-Aristotle
Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
-Horace
-Aristotle
Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
-Horace
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Comments
Maybe our other Buffalo pros can give their take on this subject. What say you?
Garrow
Garrow's answer has a ring of truth. My own guesses--and probably not very good ones--are (1) Extensive use of worn dies in many years of the series; (2) High striking pressure due to the hardness of the metal, meaning lots of cracked dies; (3) Dies shared by various mints--Philly sending used dies to Denver, for example.
The three players best qualified to answer it, in my opinion, are Hoot, BuffaloIronTail, and the immortal Koynekeywest. These guys are so good on the technical aspects of the series, I would be honored to have them tell me my guesses stink.
Guy
Buffalo nickel dies were subject to unusually severe abrasion during use due to the rough texture of the design. Many dies were further lapped to remove minor field damage. The subject is fascinating and Ron brings together a lot of interesting information applicable to both specific dates and to the full 1913-1938 series. Although it is clearly a specialist book for Buffalo Nickel fans, much of the core information can be generalized and applied to other series.
2) Also, David W Lange’s Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels, and Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915 (by the present) writer provide a lot of background information. Lange focuses on date/mint and I concentrate on design, patterns and initial production.
During the era of Liberty, Buffalo and early Jefferson nickels, planchets ready for use were purchased from vendors. The mints did not normally anneal them or do much more than clean them if necessary. The mint archives contain several letters from citizens complaining about lamination, bubbles, clips and other errors – there’s even one about 1895 nickels being so brittle they broke in half during use.
Nickels and cents were not counted, but weighed. They also were not individually tested for weight or purity. A 1915 report goes to great lengths reporting the weight of a sample of nickels and cents, all because someone complained that the nickel they had was too light and thus a counterfeit.
There is also considerable correspondence concerning excessive wearing of Buffalo nickel dies due to the rough texture of the design. Charles Barber says that is why so many look bad even though production conditions were normal. His only solution was to change the dies more frequently – or modify the design, which he rejected. (His second most common reason was die clashing causing damage.)
Further, the automatic planchet feeding mechanism, first used in 1910, was evidently not as reliable as expected. On the few detailed lists of nickel dies available, quite a few were pulled from service after only a few thousand strikes. Barber called these “blanked” dies, we call them “clashed” dies.
Hope this is useful!