What would you grade this? The seller had it listed as an XF, but it appears better than that to me. I'm far from an expert on buffs though.
I wouldn't be surprised if that was weak strike, Ruben. Look at the die degradation in the area of the rim and E Pluribus Unum, as these dies wore this area started to noticably degrade. These letters are weak and blending into the field, so IMHO, the area you are looking at is due to weak strike, and not wear. Luster breaks are hard to tell from pics though, and so I suggest an in-hand examination to determine whether this is weak strike or wear.
P.S. If this seller consistently grades coins like this, I'd have to look at everything he's selling. There may be some real bargains!
I agree 100% and I noticed the lettering. But from what I can see of from the photograph there seems to be definite luster break on the cheek of the Indian and the change in coloration I don't think can be attributed to strike. But the details seem to be AU with the possible exception of the shoulder area. Can that be weak strike? Maybe, but their is wear on the obverse which makes me discount the probability of that. The main issue at this point is luster. If the coin has original luster then I don't see any reason why this coin isn't AU53. At worst this coin, IMO, is just a shade below AU. And as I recall, these coins are famous for their terrific strikes. Ruben
I agree, weak strike. But not due to die wear IMO. More likely badly adjusted dies. The strike is too stong elsewhere, the coin even has finning. That said, I wouldn't buy this coin on a bet. Body-bag material.
Not even as an XF. The rim dings, 5 o'clock obv and 6 rev will bag that coin. Why buy a problem coin when multitudes of problem free examples are out there ?
I don't see any hard rim dents. I see some kind of what looks like a scrape or errosion on the top of the obverse of the rim and on the bottom of the reverse, but I thought that had to be a minting issue. Ruben
This is my Type I and as I recall it wasn't that expensive so I agree with Doug that there is no reason to get involved with a problem Buffalo Nickel
Becareful of seller Warning!!! Does the auction state that you will receive the exact coin pictured? You may receive an XF example that does'nt look anything near the pictured coin. Everything on Ebay is geared to the written descrption of the item. If the seller has no return policy & uses a remote website to list his pictures then beware. After the auction ends the pictures from some of these remote picture sites are no longer viewable. Thus you are left with an auction listing stating XF, and no picture to compare to the coin the seller sent. And with no picture, ebay only has the XF descrption(so your stuck with the coin the seller sends).I suggest if your serious about buying this coin to do two things. (1) Check auction to make sure there is a return policy. (2). Email the seller and ask if you are going to receive the exact coin pictured. Then save the auction with the pictures to a file on your computer for future proof to Ebay(Also, save the email the seller sends you regarding the coin). Be careful, i've been taken numerous times on Ebay(but i'm also learning from my mistakes!
OK Ruben - the first 2 pics show evidence of the finning I mentioned which indicates that the coin was struck with excessive pressure, but probably mis-adjusted dies. The second 2 pics show the bad rim dings I mentioned. The obv 5 o'clock pic shows a large piece actually missing, but the rev is the worse of the two. They should be more than enough to classify the coin as damaged.