So, I am in the process of going through my collection and trying to get it organized. One item I have is a roll of dateless Buffalo Nickels...and along the way I picked up a bottle of Nic-a-Date. I thought it would be fun to go through and see if the branch mint coins were better dates. So, I thought I would try one and see what I found. I found a AG details nickel with an "S" on the reverse and I gave it a try. The date that came out was 1914. Now, I know that 1914-S is not a key date but it is certainly a better than average date in this series. I don't really have any desire to have low grade coins like this, but it is fun. I'm thinking of doing this to the branch mint coins and seeing what I find. I figure the Philly coins aren't really worth it. I can't think of a reason not to do this. Also, do you think if I do find a better date (1921-S for example)...I could see it for something? Or, are they truly not worth anything more than a dateless coin?
I assume you mean "sell it for something"? Sure and while you will not get great money for any, its worth a shot. IIRC, 1913-S TyII were selling for $20-$30 a few years ago. Regardless of anyone's personal feelings on acid treating, such coins can be an inexpensive way for some collectors to fill holes.
There are plenty of restored date Buffalos selling on ebay for descent money. If you find any key or semi-key dates, they would be easy to unload. I'm a bit confused as to why anyone would want them, but I guess they could be album fillers.
OK, good to know. I just thought it would be fun to go through them but I really have interest in keeping them. As it turned out...I had 5 branch mint dateless Buffs and I Nic-a-Dated all of them. My results: 1914-S 1919-D 1920-S 1921-S 1925-D Obviously, that 1921-S is the best of the bunch. I would say it only has AG3 details but it is a key date. If I decided to throw it up on eBay, what do you think it would sell for?
I thought it would be a bit more, but here are some completed listings. http://www.ebay.com/csc/i.html?_ipg=&_from=&_nkw=1921+s+acid+date&_armrs=1&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc
Maybe 10% (give or take) of a readable date in similar condition. This is just a guess, so you may want to search completed listings to get a better idea.
I would have too. I guess I'll throw them in 2x2s and put them in my "junk" album for now. I'll probably sell them in a lot someday...or give them away in a contest or something.
