1925 S buffalo nickel

Hi guys I was wandering what this rare nickel is worth and what you think the strike quality is and if I should get it graded. Thank you all for your time!

 

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The 1925 S nickel is notorious for being one of the worst made nickels of the whole series. That is very evident from the worn dies on the obverse of your coin. That being said, I'd put this at an AU level. The reverse is actually pretty good for this year, even if the obverse is looking weak. It all depends on the luster, which I can't tell from your pictures.

If it is AU, I'd put it in the $250 range... and that's right on the border of being worth getting it graded or not.

 

It’s got decent luster it’s better than what it looks like in the photo. Thank you for telling me

 

Can the obverse of the coin reduce the grade because of its strike? It’s got really good luster and I think it could be higher then AU

 

The Obverse is usually the first thing that TPGs look at. However, your reverse also shows wear. In my opinion, it is AU at best, even knowing that the '25 series is noted for weak strikes.

 

It is not higher than AU - there is wear evident on the coin, so it is AU.

The difference between a weak strike and wear can be difficult to discern, because they both affect the high points. I would expect an AU coin to have good luster... it is almost uncirculated. With coins which are known for their weak strikes, the graders take that into account when evaluating coins.

 

Can't really tell the grade from these photos. Need to take it out of the case and get closer. USA Coin Book quotes: F $30 VF $99 EF $223 AU $341. I would lean more to XF even with a weak strike. But I can't really see all the details very well.

 

I wouldn't call a 1925-S Buffalo Nickel rate. They minted over 6 million of them.

 

You should know that mintage numbers don't tell the whole story.

If you look at the series, 25S isn't one of the toughest dates, or a key date, but it is by no means one of the common dates. In AU, it's a $300 coin.

 

Yes and in low grade it’s a $6.00 coin, not much higher than a common date.

 

If it were in a low grade, I'd agree. It's a bit more valuable than a common date, but not too bad.

But I hope we agree that this is a bit higher than a low grade?

 

Yep, conditional rarity.

One of my favorite examples is the 1881-S (mintage 12,760,000) vs. the 1884-S (mintage 3,200,000) Morgan. In lower grades (G-F), they both trade as cheap as any other common Morgan, $33-45. In MS60, they're respectively $72 and $9400. In MS65, they're $200 and $237,000.

I also like the 1904-S Barber half. Mintage 553,000, compared to 124,000 for the 1914-P. In G, they go for $58 and $110 respectively. In F, $414 vs. $360. In XF, $2880 vs. $960. In MS61, $11,300 vs. $1950...

 

Definitely higher and I’d say XF.

 

should I get it graded? The picture make it look really bad it’s better then in the photos and definitely not XF

 

I don't think that a TPG would grade it higher than XF so, no, don't waste money on the grading. You have a nice coin, so just keep it as a personal treasure.

 

I doubt it would grade high enough to recover the costs to do so.

 

you sure they would grade it XF? I have looked at photos of XF buffalo nickels. It looks NOTHING like them. way more detail and more luster.

 

One date that can blow your mind is a 1910 Philly - mintage is almost 150,000 less than the 1904-S, which is already an undervalued piece, but a 1910 can be acquired in AG for $20 or less.

An LCS I go to made a mistake and put a 1904-S in the junk Barber bin - that was a $13 coin in G-4 I later sold for $45, yet out of my AG 1910, it was barely worth buying. That's why supply and demand will always outweigh mintage.

 

Here's my 2 cents:

It's at least AU, and wholesale bids for AU50 starts at $240; depending on what you bought it for, then you should get it graded if you're okay with paying around $40-50 if that's your only coin to send in. AU58 bid is $490, but ungraded I'd treat it as a 50 as for valuation, since you'll always get people who don't agree with the grade.