A clay buffalo nickel? Copper infrastructure?

Hello and greetings, I’m a new member and apparently I’ve already violated the rules so my apologies. I joined yesterday but read over the rules this morning and violated rule number three subsection C because I left my email contact in my first post.

I purchased estates and came across this strange buffalo nickel. I consider myself an amateur numismatist I have a bunch of reference books but I can’t find anything relating to this nickel in any of my books or on the Internet.

I would love someone to send me in a direction to do more research or if you happen to of heard about this type of nickel please share your knowledge.

I thought I was cleaning off a bit of gunk on the back of the nickel when actually the color of the nickel chipped off a little. With the jewelers loop I investigated further to find middle striations through this ceramic/clay substance on the interior of the nickel. I thought it may have been a play token or part of a game but it’s entirely too exact a replica With a strange infrastructure to be considered a toy. I thought it may be a Proto type or an example or sample but I have limited experience in this field. The first photo is a regular buffalo nickel side-by-side with the piece I found and the other photos are closer detail.

 

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It is possible that, this is an authentic buffalo with came in contact with some pretty harsh acidic chemicals.
Just a possibility

 

It's a real Buffalo.. It's just corroded

 

It’s a clay mesh inside... most nickels are solid all the way through... this one isn’t.

If it did come in contact with a corrosive material then how would it corrode the inside of a nickel well keeping the outside as it is?

I’m not ruling out any of your answers but just provoking more thought.

 

I think that infrastructure is the wrong term
Infrastructure- the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterpris

 

It was exposed to some type of corrosive environment that is causing the surface to react and spall off. I also suspect heat was involved as well, but can’t say with certainty. It IS NOT a clay matrix or experimental material, just a regular Buffalo Nickel that was in the wrong place at the wrong time

 

Welcome to CT. What you are seeing is the results of a hard life. If you want to, take a toothbrush and some soap or toothpaste to it and you will see metal.

 

It appears to be an environmental disaster. We will never know exactly nor will you. Try a soak in white vinegar and see how much of this outer shell comes off with a scrub with a toothbrush.

 

Looks like that Buffalo has been rotting in the desert for a long time. Damaged, probably by acid. The core is solid metal and acid will do very strange things to metals.

Welcome to CT.

 

Notice how the corroded one has an image that is closer to the rim visibly compare to the other. An acid corrodes over the whole surface, whether done on purpose or buried, so all 3 dimensions are affected fairly equally, images will stay recognizable until almost paper thin. People make these for Etsy, eBay, etc. as something the mint did and worth a lot, of course, they are not. Jim