What's Your Ugliest Key Date Hole Filler?

sweet wheatz just posted an ugly 1914-D. What's your ugliest key date hole filler? Show us a pic if you have one.

Mine's a 1918/7 Buffalo, but one has to use their imagination to see the overdate.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Not that my coins are ever going to win any awards by a long shot, but I don't do hole fillers. Have always read it was a mistake to buy a coin you know you will not be happy with, I stick to that. If I have to wait, then I just wait.

 

Yes, I do that too, don't have many hole fillers. Yet I couldn't pass up that 1918/7 for $5 because I know I'll never buy that one for $1,000 in good condition.

 

I had a couple of 1924-D cents that would win a lot of titals in this catagory, but they were sold, one for $3 the other $5... beauties...

 

Based on your image it looks like your nickel got the Nic-a-Date treatment.

That's my philosophy too.
Hence it's unlikely I'll ever have an 18/7 or a 16/16 Buffalo.

 

Yeah, not sure exactly what happened to the coin, as it's not wear that ruined it, it has a full horn. The seller did say that he treated the coin with a process that I don't recall, to try to get the date to stand out. Any ideas for possibly getting that date to show? What's the Nic-aDate treament? Doesn't sound good. lol

 

Not wear that ruined it? Just why do you think it got treated to begin with? It no more has a full horn than it has a full date. If you weigh it, you can figure how much of the coin has been acetated. My guess is that the coin weighs 4.4 grams. To save you looking it up, it should weigh 5 gm. Maybe you should hold a contest to guess the weigh.

 

Just dug the coin out, I remember thinking when I saw the coin that the horn was much fuller than I expected for that much wear on the date. Here’s a pic of the reverse. Good guess on the weight, 4.6 grams.

 

I've never used it, but as I understand it Nic-a-Date is an acid that works particularlly well with nickel alloys.
During the striking of the coin the (crystaline?) structure of the metal changes and the change varies according the pressure applied in different areas of the coin.
Nic-a-Date takes advantage of those variations exposes relief that was removed by wear.
The field around the date gets etched more than the date itself.
But the final result is a grainy, porous surface where it was used.

 

I think I have a winner(?)

This is the reverse of a 1793 Wreath ¢ (vine and bars) slabbed as Poor-1

 

Nic-a-date is not an acid - at least in the normal sense of the word. Its main ingredient is ferric chloride. It does have a low pH as does an an acid, but it is different.

 

That could be the winner, but hey, it's a 1793 wreath cent! I don't know though, you should see my coin, don't know how the pics came out as good as they did. lol

 

What I am saying is the the original coin (before treatment) had no visible horn and no visible date. The only reason you can see any of either is the treatment.

 

So, what do you all think? It's clearly been treated, will more treatment ruin it further or is there a way to make it look better?

 

Ruin it further? It is 100% ruined now. I do not know. Is there such a thing as 110% ruined?

 

At least you can see that it's a buffalo

 

I found this coins years ago in a dealers "wheat cent bin" and I always believed it was a 1914-S. As I got older and compared it to other coins, I started to think it is a 1914-D and to this day I feel that way. The MM doesn't look right for a 1914-S. In this condition, it's not worth much either way...so here is my ugliest key date.

​

This coin actually filled the 1914-S hole in my whitman album as a child. I now have a much nicer example of both the 1914-D and 1914-S.

 

I have a bunch of ugly Indian head cents that I've never bothered upgrading, but none of them are keys. Most of my key dates are reasonably nice.

The coin in my collection that immediately comes to mind is my 1853-O no arrows half dime. Good-4 details (barely), cleaned and damaged. But considering everything including the price I paid for it, I'm not complaining.

Come to think of it, I guess I have one more that qualifies. It's a Feuchtwanger 3 cent piece with the NY Coat of arms -- F or VF details, but very crudely holed. I bought it for practically nothing as a contemporary counterfeit, but believe it to be legit after doing some research.

 

I would not treat that coin any more.

I am not opposed to key date hole fillers, because they are still key dates. And I know others have an issue with this (but not me) - I also do not mind a collection of MS coins with the keydates being lower grade(what ever can be afforded). To collect some coins you would either need to be very wealthy or do some type of short set to skip key dates. I have to think about what is key date and is my lowest grade - probably AG.

And I wish I had that wreath cent.

 

I do not mind good old honest wear, a few scratches and/or graffiti, or even a hole or a plug; laquer, however, turns me off.