1938-D Buffalo.........MS 65.........Gold Label CAC...........Vintage 2.1 NGC holder. Probably the most common date/mm for the Buffalo series. I guessing it about a $75 - $100 coin. Tonight it just sold for a whopping $1,238.00 plus juice of 10% to 12.5%. Making it a $1392.75 for this one.
https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1026750/1938-D-Buffalo-Nickel-NGC-MS-65-CAC-Gold-Label-OH There's something weird going on above PLURIBUS but I can't see anything else. Even if it was D/S Numismedia says it's $138.
It's the combination of the rarer holder and the gold CAC sticker that caused the high final price. Any coin in that generation of holder will sell for at least $300 nowadays (and quite a few are bringing more). And given that the holder is scarce, having a gold sticker makes it even less common. It's still much higher than I expected but I'm not fully surprised that at least two bidders chased it.
Check out this 68. It has a load of marks on it. GC's looks way better. https://coins.ha.com/itm/buffalo-ni...-/a/1331-3394.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515
I think it’s the combination of a nickel with gold toning, gold cac, and gold embossed holder. Might one say, a golden trifecta? 5% = coin 5% = cac 90% = 2.1 holder
Not the strongest strike for a 68 to me...flat areas on the Indian's hair above the braid band, and on the front shoulder of the buffalo. Have seen better graded less.
I thought it was "buy the coin, not the holder". Isn't it worth the gamble to crack it out and re-grade it?
The coin looks nice, so that helps but I'd agree it's no more than 5% like you mentioned. The holder and the Gold Cac are the driving factors. I wouldn't split the two into percentages as they are linked in this case. Drop the sticker, and the price is likely in the $300-$400 range. Drop the holder but keep the Gold sticker, and the price is in the $125-$200 range. So the holder plays a bigger role but having both is the real price driver.
I would definitely not crack this coin out. I doubt it's a 68 (which is the minimum needed to make money at the price this ended at). The more interesting aspect is the fairly scarce combo of an NGC 2.1 holder with a gold CAC. There are less of those available than MS 67 Buffalo nickels (and I'm almost certain that even an MS 68 Buffalo Nickel is easier to find).
What’s going on with his eye?(edit - it almost looks like a dropped Y, if that is the correct terminology) Slight rim ding near the top of the feathers, as well.
Agreed. As time goes on the holder and gold CAC have a good chance to increase in value as more of those holders get lost. A nice looking 38-D isnt exactly a rarity even in high grades but that holder is and will just get rarer over time
I think some people want to have a coin in their collection with a gold bean and they will pay top dollar for one.
I got burned on the Gold CAC thing when it first started. Never again! If the coin is in an MS-65 holder, but is really an MS-66, it’s worth MS-66 money at most. There are no guarantees that it will get the 66 if you resubmit it. If you are paying crazy money for a gold sticker, good luck to you. As for the OP coin, if the center of the obverse is that weak, I question the gold sticker.