FYI

Purpose
Varieties I’ve Found
References
Glossary
Acknowledgments

Purpose

Purchasing unattributed Buffalo nickel varieties on the Web is a challenging, but rewarding task. It allows one to obtain scarce varieties, sometimes at bargain prices. The goal of this series of posts is to make the task a little easier by providing lots of pictures and by describing in detail the features and clues of each variety that I look for in Web images. These are the features my experience suggests are the most likely to be visible in a Web image. Perhaps this will help you pick a few more cherries and a few less thorns.

Varieties I’ve Found

Finding unattributed Buffalo nickel varieties on the Web is challenging. The images are of varied quality, often with shadows and reflections at what should be the most informative locations.  Even the best images are not as good as holding the coin in your hand. However, finding varieties on the Web is not impossible. They are still out there waiting to be found. In November 2008, I found a 1936-d three and a half legged buffalo nickel unattributed on the Web. I can not describe the thrill this gave me. It spurred me to reread The Cherry Pickers’ Guide, The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels, and The Authoritative Reference on Buffalo Nickels. Subsequently, from December 2008 through now I have found the following unattributed varieties on the Web:

Date	Variety	Fivaz-Stanton #
1913-d T1	2 Feathers	FS-401
1913 T2	Doubled Die Obverse	FS-1101
1913 T2	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-1801
1915-d	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-501
1915-s	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-501
1916	No Designer’s Initial F	FS-401
1916	2 Feathers	FS-402
1917	2 Feathers	FS-401
1917-d	2 Feathers	FS-401
1917-d	3 ½ Legged Buffalo	FS-901
1917-s	2 Feathers	FS-401
1918	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-801
1918-s	2 Feathers	FS-401
1919	2 Feathers	FS-401
1920-s	2 Feathers	FS-401
1921-s	2 Feathers	FS-401
1925-d	2 Feathers	FS-401
1925-s	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-501
1925-s	2 Feathers	FS-401
1927-d	3 ½ Legged Buffalo	FS-901
1927-d	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-501
1930	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-801
1930	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-802
1930	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-803
1930-s	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-501
1935-s	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-801
1936	Doubled Die Obverse	FS-101
1936	Doubled Die Reverse	FS-801
1936-d	Re-Punched Mint Mark	FS-502

All of these coins were purchased unattributed and now have been attributed by the Professional Coin Grading Service, PCGS. Many of the coins were purchased at bargain prices because no one else knew what was really for sale. Of course, in some cases others did know and the price was less of a bargain. However, the real plus is that I actually was able to obtain these varieties.  Even now, of these 29 coins 13 have a PCGS population of 5 or less. Twenty two have a population of 10 or less. They are not generally available to purchase attributed by PCGS.

The varieties hiding on the Web are not merely low end examples. Twenty three of the coins above are still in my second ranked PCGS “Buffalo Nickels Complete Variety” Registry set as the best that I can find (and afford), attributed or unattributed. Fifteen of these were “Pop Tops”, the highest graded by PCGS, when I found them and nine still are today. Oh yes, the 1936-d three and a half legged buffalo nickel I found, while not a Pop Top, is the second highest graded by PCGS. Some of the unattributed varieties on the Web are exceptional!

References

Fivaz, Bill and J.T. Stanton. The Cherrypicker’s Guide to Rare Die Varieties, Fourth Edition – Volume 1. Stanton Books & Supplies, Inc., Savannah, GA: 2000.

Lange, David. The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickles. Third Edition. DLRC Press, LLC., Virginia Beach, VA: 2006.

Pope, Ron. Buffalo Nickels – The Abraded Die Varieties. Self-published, 2006.

Wexler, John A., Ron Pope, and Kevin Flynn. The Authoritative Reference on Buffalo Nickels. Second Edition. Zyrus Press, Inc. Irvine, CA: 2007.

Wexler, John A., Ron Pope, and Kevin Flynn. Treasure Hunting Buffalo Nickels. Stanton Printing & Publishing, Savannah, GA: 1999.

Glossary

(I should add images)

Die Abrasion Lines. When cleaning up a die clash or some other imperfection on the dies, the minters would abrade away the undesired aspects. Sometimes this abrasion would leave no trace. At other times new marks would be left behind. Typically they are straight lines that appear in clusters. You can easily imagine a worker applying pressure with an abrading instrument repeatedly over the die surface. Die abrasion lines are distinguished from die cracks by being numerous and relatively straight and parallel.

Broken. When an area of the die is abraded and a feature of the design is partially removed, then that feature is said to be broken. For example, if the area of EPU is abraded then possibly some of the edge of the buffalo’s back will be abraded away. This would be a broken back. Other frequent broken areas include the front of the neck, the throat and the chin. Abraded Die Varieties such as Two Feather, Three and a Half Leg and No F are extreme examples of features being broken.

Clue. A clue is a feature of a coin that frequently co-occurs with a variety. However, it is not part of the variety per se. For example, there is a die crack on the 1913-D Two Feather that occurs on all the 1913-D 2F’s that I have seen. However, it is not part of the 2F variety itself. Two Feathers for other dates don’t have this die crack. A clue merely provides further evidence that this might be a particular variety. In addition to die cracks, die clashes, die scratches, filled mint marks, and various abraded areas all can provide clues to a variety.

Die Crack. As the name suggests, a die crack occurs when a crack appears in a die. A crack in the die is a crevice so it results in a raised line on the coin. Die cracks typically appear in isolation and are distinguished by their irregular shape. Both of these features distinguish them from die abrasion lines.

Error. I view any coin produced by the mint that did not precisely match the design approved by the mint, the Congress, and many others, as being an error. The mint didn’t do the job as it was instructed. They made a mistake. Within this large group of errors, there are many subgroups of kinds of errors, including die varieties, planchet errors, minting errors, etc. To define the subgroups, you look at when they occurred in the full minting process (e.g., the die production process, the coin minting process) and the circumstances surrounding the mistake (e.g., improper annealing of the dies, mechanical failure of the minting press).

Pure Two Feather. A Pure 2F has the third feather completely abraded away. There is no trace. For example, the 1913-D 2F is not a pure 2F – on the examples I’ve seen you can still see remnants of the third feather. On the other hand, the 1916 2F is available as a pure 2F with no trace of the third feather visible.

Variety. Varieties are errors that have been given approval by the mint as “close enough”. In the case of Die Production Varieties, the approval is tacit. The mint created the die, they inspected it, and they placed it in service. Given the cost of creating dies, it seems likely they watched over the process closely, but that they also allowed a certain tolerance for “close enough”. This gives us Doubled Die, Re-Punched Mint Mark and Over Mint Mark varieties.

In the case of Abraded Die Varieties, the approval was more explicit. The mint inspected the dies, abraded away the clash marks (and possibly more), and placed the die back in service. The mint knew the dies would create coins with missing features, but they would be “close enough”. This gives us Two Feather, Three and a Half Leg, and Missing Initial varieties.

Wipe. I use the term to describe the appearance of the coin. The coin has raised lines running across the face of  the coins, typically from NorthEast to SouthWest on the obverse and NorthWest to SouthEast on the reverse. The lines are visible both in the fields and on the devices.

What causes a Wipe? I don’t know A couple of possibilities come to mind. One is some sort of physical wipe. Perhaps a strong brush (it must be strong to leave scratches on the dies) was used to clean the surface of the dies to remove metal filings after they were abraded. However, this would require a very small brush (to get into all the recesses of the die) applied very uniformly across the face of the die. One can imagine a small tool (like a dental instrument) to facilitate this process, but it still seems unlikely.

Somewhat similarly, one could imagine an acid bath wiped across the face of the dies to remove the debris from the abrading and then rinsed or brushed off. In this case the brush could be relatively soft so as to reach into all the crevices of the dies. How much brushing and how soon to rinse might lead to the variations in the raised lines observed from die to did. With time, the mint operators might learn the strength of acid to use and how quickly to rinse after application, making the lines less prominent for some dates.

Another possible cause would be impurities in or improper mixing of the planchet alloy. With time this might lead to streaks becoming apparent. How they would turn into raised metal is a little less clear. Perhaps it was inert material on the planchets that was not properly rinsed off.

However, the conclusion at this point is still, I don’t know.

Acknowledgments

I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to my fellow buffalo nickel variety collectors. They help make the search more interesting and exciting.

I particularly want to thank a small group of collectors that I have never met in person but with whom I communicate regularly. Each of us is actively involved in the hunt and actively helps each other in our searches. Our conversations, whether via phone or email, make the hobby more alive. We consider attributes of specific coins and varieties, what might cause a variety, what might also be a clue to a variety. And everything in between. To a large extent these conversations have helped shape this web site.

Ron Pope is a member of this online group and deserves special mention (You may have noticed his name as an author of several of the reference books above). Ron has been like a mentor to me as I have learned more about Buffalo nickels. He is always willing to answer questions (and ask some more), to explore alternatives for how a variety might have come to exist (and to propose more alternatives), and to provide background, history and context. He has helped make the journey much more interesting.