hammered 1913 type one buffalo nickel

BUFFNIXX · February 21, 2012 9:15PM

Just picked up this hammered 1913 type one buffalo nickel from an ebay auction. Nicest raw business strike I have ever run across -- at least that I can remember. Coin has no handling marks almost as if it were struck by itself and not aloud to come in contact with other coins. A remarkable coin for type. And a 101% full strike both obverse and reverse

Eagleguy · February 21, 2012 9:28PM

Very Nice! I am quite jealous.

JH

lasvegasteddy · February 21, 2012 9:40PM

nice buff
on reverse isn't the buff's hair on his head a lil weak???
i can send you a link to my latest if you'd like...on reverse strike note
"check your pm"

njcoincrank · February 21, 2012 9:59PM

Congrats!

NJCC

BUFFNIXX · February 21, 2012 10:52PM

to lasvegasteddy --

nice buff
on reverse isn't the buff's hair on his head a lil weak???
i can send you a link to my latest if you'd like...on reverse strike note
"check your pm"

YES THERE IS WEAKNESS ON THE BUFF'S HEAD WHICH I DID NOT NOTICE.
THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY
BUFFNIXX

guitarwes · February 21, 2012 10:54PM

That is a nice one, I love these. Nice color.

lasvegasteddy · February 21, 2012 11:06PM

kool no brashness taken then as it wasn't implied...at all
i do look forward to some serious buff huntin myself and follow/respect you buff experts

DIMEMAN · February 21, 2012 11:17PM

Nice! I don't think I have ever seen an obverse that strong. The hair detail and full letters on LIBERTY that don't blend into the rim.

Very nice!!

keyman64 · February 21, 2012 11:20PM

Nice coin, congrats. Let us know what it grades if you send it in.

ricko · February 21, 2012 11:28PM

Very nice Buff..... great detail Cheers, RickO

golden · February 21, 2012 11:58PM

They don't get any better than that.

7Jaguars · February 22, 2012 12:34AM

Absolutely outstanding, and poster material IMO. That coin visually is as pleasing as a proof might be....

DorkGirl · February 22, 2012 3:10AM

OldEastside · February 22, 2012 3:17AM

DANG, thats what a Buffs all about, cool pick up
Congrats

Steve

richardshipp · February 22, 2012 3:54AM

Type2 · February 22, 2012 4:06AM

Very nice love the look.

JRocco · February 22, 2012 7:58AM

This is a really nice coin.

BUFFNIXX · February 22, 2012 8:03AM

The one thing that was really odd was the total lack of contact marks. Like when it was ejected from the dies someone caught it with a pair of gloves. You do not see that very often

Elcontador · February 22, 2012 8:18AM

Pretty much every 1913 from all mints I've seen in Unc. has a good strike. Would like Cape to opine on this coin.

The obvious question is why is this coin raw? What does this pinkish toning signify? Most Unc. toned Buffs I've seen - and this is not a series I collect - are either golden or ice blue, and is fairly uniform.

Kove · February 22, 2012 9:01AM

That is a VERY cool coin! Thanks for posting.

cape · February 22, 2012 10:04AM

That IS a great strike..... but not the nicest I've seen, I actually just had a beauty in Long Beach that PCGS graded MS 67+. I'll put a shout out to Todd and have him add the image when the coin was just a ms67..... for comparison sake. Congrats, great coin!

blu62vette · February 22, 2012 10:22AM

<< <i>That IS a great strike..... but not the nicest I've seen, I actually just had a beauty in Long Beach that PCGS graded MS 67+. I'll put a shout out to Todd and have him add the image when the coin was just a ms67..... for comparison sake. Congrats, great coin! >>

cape · February 22, 2012 10:23AM

Thanks Todd and great image !!!!

EagleEye · February 22, 2012 11:24AM

I know from time to time you can find Proofs being offered as MS versions. Without looking at the edge, I can't tell if yours is a proof, but compare yours with a PR66 I just sold.

lkeigwin · February 22, 2012 11:29AM

I think it's spectacular. On ebay, no less. WTG.
Lance.

Cam40 · February 22, 2012 11:34AM

The reverse die looks the exact same on both to be sure

7Jaguars · February 22, 2012 12:03PM

Sorry Cape, as an unbiased observer I like the OP coin quite a bit more than that imaged by Todd. Yours nice, OP, well it's just grand!
It's not just about strike, it IS about overall appearance IMO.

BUFFNIXX · February 22, 2012 7:11PM

This coin is a business strike. It has all the details of most matte proofs but not the pebbly surfaces.

Aesthetically there is not much difference between the proof pictured here and my coin and I can understand why collectors were not too happy with the matte proof coinage when it came out.

lasvegasteddy · February 22, 2012 7:23PM

good lord i about give up trying to score a matte proof
i study the looks n study but they're just so much like a bizz die
untill i do i'm still smilin over that $15 ebay 42 "bu dime" i made into a pr65 holder
tha thrill of tha hunt though and havin to look at all those buff's yeah life doesn't bite

i do concur in your 13' having strike as a proof die...not sure about the rims or surface to qualify

i really wish they would of had a stand out die feature on those mattes

BUFFNIXX · February 22, 2012 10:14PM

To my way of thinking there is little difference between your typical 1913 type one matte proof and a monster hammered business strike like this one. The big difference is the pebbly grainy surfaces on the matte proof versus the slick icy surfaces on the business strike. What can make this even worse is that there are some business strikes struck from left-over matte proof dies. I once had one that came with an anacs certificate attesting to the fact that the coin was indeed a business strike struck from matte proof dies. This coin had grainy surfaces but was not quite fully struck and also had some die clash marks inconsistent with a true matte proof. But you looked at that coin closely you could see attributes of both the business strike and matte proof coins. I have personally cherry picked four type two matte proof buffalo nickels over the years -- the 1913 to 1917 issues. What a thrill that was to go to a dealers table and have him sell you an unc buff that you know is a proof. I also bought a beautiful 1913 type two buff off of ebay that turned out to be a matte proof.

lasvegasteddy · February 22, 2012 10:32PM

<< <i>To my way of thinking there is little difference between your typical 1913 type one matte proof and a monster hammered business strike like this one. The big difference is the pebbly grainy surfaces on the matte proof versus the slick icy surfaces on the business strike. What can make this even worse is that there are some business strikes struck from left-over matte proof dies. I once had one that came with an anacs certificate attesting to the fact that the coin was indeed a business strike struck from matte proof dies. This coin had grainy surfaces but was not quite fully struck and also had some die clash marks inconsistent with a true matte proof. But you looked at that coin closely you could see attributes of both the business strike and matte proof coins. I have personally cherry picked four type two matte proof buffalo nickels over the years -- the 1913 to 1917 issues. What a thrill that was to go to a dealers table and have him sell you an unc buff that you know is a proof. I also bought a beautiful 1913 type two buff off of ebay that turned out to be a matte proof. >>

amazing....mattes and 36 satin you can do it...brilliants of 36/37...now there's a story in itself

right on...you've scored 5 matte proofs as unc's...that's a you suck if i ever saw one...

kryptonitecomics · February 22, 2012 10:38PM

What I don't see in the images is blazing luster on your coin...maybe it's just the images but it seems mark free but lack luster...?

BUFFNIXX · February 22, 2012 11:03PM

I think it is just the toning that subdues the lustre.

lasvegasteddy · February 22, 2012 11:08PM

myself i'm still not sure that isn't your 6th matte scored as an unc...comparing those images above...."glad i'm no expert"

BUFFNIXX · February 23, 2012 7:35PM

It took me quite a while to get to the point where I could USUALLY tell the difference between a matte proof and a monster business strike. Take a look at the following pcgs ms65 buff I bought raw off of ebay a few years ago. This one initially had me fooled.

I initially thought this coin was a proof. Though not fully struck in the center of the obverse, not all proofs are fully or even well struck in the center so this alone did not disqualify it from being a proof. If you look at the reverse rim to the left at 7 and 8 o'clock this coin even has the rim-line proof diagnostic that exists for all 1913 type 2 thru 1915 buff proofs. This was not supposed to exist on 1916 matte proofs, and this is the only coin, proof or business strike from 1916, I have seen that has that line. All the 1916 matte proof nickels I have ever seen lacked this line. (See Scott Traver's book Coin Collectors Survival Manual where he has a page devoted to this reverse die diagnostic for 1913 type 2 matte proof buffaloes from 1913 to 1915)

I was a bit bummed out when it came back in a pcgs ms65 holder but it still has all the pizazz and style of a matte proof so I have come to really like it for what it really is.

The 1913 buffalo I have in this thread has ALL of the detail of most 1913 type one matte proofs but lacks the fine grainy pebbly detail of a matte proof. Still a monster business strike in its own right. The 1916 buffalo lacks the fine grainy surfaces of a matte proof but still as far as visual impact is as nice as many 1916 matte proof buffs I have seen. Another monster business strike.

BUFFNIXX · February 23, 2012 7:59PM

To Cape --

"That IS a great strike..... but not the nicest I've seen, I actually just had a beauty in Long Beach that PCGS graded MS 67+. I'll put a shout out to Todd and have him add the image when the coin was just a ms67..... for comparison sake. Congrats, great coin!"

Any thoughts on these plus grades?? To me a MS67+ is a MS67.5 so we now have grades with grades. I always thought is was hard enough to differentiate the 11 mint state and proof grades but this?

lasvegasteddy · February 23, 2012 8:04PM

i really need to buy my books...i think kevin flynn devoted a book on proof buffaloes too
it's got to be a rush no one should miss...buying a unc only to discover it's a proof been running under the radar
just like your latest inclusion too with the 16'
darnest thing about not hitting proof gold...you end up with true treasures anyways

lasvegasteddy · February 23, 2012 8:11PM

i personally too see that full details of design isn't truly considered in grade
so many very high end grades lack details...look at you obverse right before his hair enters the tie...many 67's and 68's aren't that detailed
why???
i always thought strike was a very high factor on high grades...but somehow on super grades...eye appeal/luster out weigh lack of detail striking
not looking at registry though

BUFFNIXX · February 23, 2012 10:22PM

Here is another 1913 type one monster strike -- business -- that I used to own and is now owned by a collector in Tennessee.

One of best strikes I have ever seen on a 13 type one business strike. Only drawback is it was cleaned.

hammered 1913 type one buffalo nickel

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