No dates

Discussion in 'Error Coins' started by Bentley carpenter, Jun 21, 2021.

  1. Bentley carpenter

    Bentley carpenter Well-Known Member

    I'm trying to find out how can I find out what the date is on these buffalo nickels.
     
    love old coins likes this.
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  3. Bentley carpenter

    Bentley carpenter Well-Known Member

  4. thomas mozzillo

    thomas mozzillo Well-Known Member

    You can buy this at most coin supply sites for about $5.00
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  5. Bentley carpenter

    Bentley carpenter Well-Known Member

    I have a bunch of them I would like to just see what years I have I might have a key date or anything you never know.
     
    capthank and love old coins like this.
  6. love old coins

    love old coins Well-Known Member

    I have at least five Buffalo nickels with no date showing so I feel your pain Bentley! I had no idea there was a product out there that could help reveal dates on nickels...good to know.
     
    capthank likes this.
  7. love old coins

    love old coins Well-Known Member

    The only problem is, if @Bentley carpenter lives outside the United States, they won't ship to him from www.thecoinsupplystore. Perhaps other places might, I don't know because I always use the coin supply store for my supplies. They have the best prices.
     
  8. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    You can also immerse them in a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide and White Vinegar, something most everyone has in their cupboard. I believe the ratio was 50/50 when I did it. I left six dateless buffalo's in the solution overnight and raised a date on four of them. The only drawback is that it leaves your nickels ghost white. I figured they are still worth a nickel though.
     
    Stevearino and Inspector43 like this.
  9. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Or you can just use vinegar. A little slower, but a LOT cheaper. If you want to stay with faster but cheaper don't pay for that "name brand" tiny bottle and do a search for Ferric Chloride, used to etch PC boards. You can get a quart for about 70 cents an oz. that little bottle of Nic-a-Date is $2.50 or more per oz.
     
    Stevearino likes this.
  10. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Nic-A-Date works but the coin will be damaged afterwards.
     
    tibor likes this.
  11. kanga

    kanga 65 Year Collector

    Correct.
    But anything you do to restore the date will result in a DETAILS coin.
     
    Mountain Man and tibor like this.
  12. John Burgess

    John Burgess Well-Known Member

    it's fun to find out I suppose, but dateless buffalo's are just that. a dateless coin.

    you can use nic-a-date or any other method, it's going to damage the surfaces of the coins, it's not going to help the value even if it's a key date, it's a dateless buffalo. the mintmarks are usually gone or mostly gone also.

    Chemically etching the coin isn't going to hep it's value any, regardless of what you uncover is all I'm saying.

    As it stands dateless buffalo's are worth 10-20 cents to people that want to use them in jewelry, or buttons, or for arts and crafts like hobo nickel carving.
     
  13. Mac McDonald

    Mac McDonald Well-Known Member

    No date, no way...unless you want to destroy the house to find the mouse...and what good is that...? Just my opinion.
     
  14. Mr.Q

    Mr.Q Well-Known Member

    Read the Nic-A-Date directions closely Bentley. A very small drop will expand quickly. It works very well, but you want the date only, good luck.
     
    love old coins likes this.
  15. Jim Dale

    Jim Dale Well-Known Member

    What's the value of a Buffalo coin without a date compared to the value of the coin that uses a chemical to bring out the date. I doubt there is very little difference.
     
  16. juris klavins

    juris klavins Well-Known Member

    Even if the chemical reveals a key date, your nickel will be worth five cents, because the original coin was unidentifiable by date and the treated coin has no collector value - catch 22 :yack:
     
  17. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    There used to be a seller on eBay that sold chemically etched Buffalo nickels for a small mark up just so some collectors could fill holes in their albums, but they will always be damaged coins.
    There are certain Buffalo nickels that you can tell the year by other indicators. Do some research and you'll find them. A dateless three-legged Buffalo is still worth a small premium to some.
    Good luck.
     
    love old coins likes this.
  18. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    eddiespin likes this.
  19. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    Yes but now you have a nickel with a date. Was 5 cent and still is five cents. I give them to kids
     
    juris klavins likes this.
  20. Neosynephrine

    Neosynephrine Member

    So my 1913-S Type 2 (I have six) and my 1918/17 are only worth 5 cents each? Ebay begs to differ. However, they're not going anywhere and it is so much fun to restore. the dates. Afterward I plunk 'em in Tarn-X to clean up the no-longer-collectible-for-most-people nickels. Just sayin'.
     
    love old coins likes this.
  21. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Depends on what date is revealed. Some of the key dates DO have a premium value even with a restored date. Yes it's not going to be anywhere close to what a non-details coin would be, but it's going to be a lot more than 5 cents.
     
    love old coins and Oldhoopster like this.
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