What is going on with surface of this 1930 Buffalo?

Hoot, Hoot, @Paddy54 @GDJMSP Mr. Owl is STILL hoping that one of you would explain how the "wheel" did not touch parallel and adjacent areas of relief and field? Check out the curved chemically etched area of the field and the feathers on the left obverse at 9 O'clock. I've given reasons for each of my opinions. Please refute them.

Save your money!

 

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It is Insider (AKA Mr. Owl) to you.

 

I'd rather not send it to PCGS or NGC and pay upwards of $60.00 to get a slab that simply say's "UNC. Details Planchet Flaw". I'd much rather send it to an expert who can examine the coin in hand and not through plastic, who can then render a much better judgement than we all can using only images. There are some very good theories in here as to how it was done and when it was done.

So with that said, if anyone can put me in contact with someone who would be a qualified expert, I would be greatly appreciated. This would make a very fun specimen to study under a stereo microscope. I don't want to leave you all hanging and I would personally love to find out what this is. Personally I don't care if it would or would not straight grade, I crave the knowledge and love the mystery.

I really can't believe this has generated 5 pages of discussion. LOL

At the end of the day, this to me is a gorgeous coin, to which I am comfortable with what I paid for it. Now as the Scooby Doo Gang would say, "Let's solve this mystery".

 

You know, the more I look at this, the more I'm coming around to Paddy's/Doug's way of thinking. Done using liquid (perhaps to help keep the coin cool), I could see some dribbling over the edge and sitting there long enough to stain it. The "shine" (physically impossible to define it as "luster") is to be expected from burnished metal.

 

@mikediamond would be you best bet. (He writes the error article for Coin World and works with CONECA.) I was hoping he would pop in. He does frequent this site. It may be out of date, but;

 

There are several compounds jewelers use to polish their work. One being Rouge which is the polish that removes the least medal. As all compounds remove medal. Others are used to get the piece to that last step to bring up the shine or luster of the medal. Just like different grits of sand paper to finish wood.
Who ever did this was either trying to fake a look or texture on what seems to have been a nice coin.
No matter what was used this isn't a issue that occurred at the mint.

 

Sorry to queer this.....

 

Thank you for the contact information. I've started a private conversation with him and included a link to this thread.

 

If he does not post it here, please let us know what he says.

 

Absolutely will do.

 

Interesting. So some dummy took a nice coin and used jeweler's rouge to buff up parts of a perfectly nice coin. Wonder how he decided which parts to ruin?

@Paddy54 Say it ain't so!

 

The coarse texture of the affected area, the presence of a discernible "grain", and the fact that it continues onto the edge suggests chemical damage.

 

Thank you Mike. Would you say it was pre-strike or post strike? It has my curiosity peeked because of it appearance.

 

If my conclusion is correct, then it would have to be post-strike. If it was pre-strike, then the odd texture would have been erased in the field, where effective striking pressure is highest.

 

At first glance, I though "weak strike" but I am leaning toward glue being the culprit. Glue is an easy test, as others have said and non-destructive to the tone to boot. (unless it is AT.)

 

Also, is that a 'F' under 1930?

 

With all due respect, did you read this thread before posting? Tape/glue residue was one opinion (way up the thread) that was ruled out. Same goes for the buffing wheel posts that were refuted; yet no defense for this opinion was offered.

Members can post anything else they can think of about this coin but a well respected profession error authority has posted the ONLY Possible correct answer (based on the appearance of the edge especially) to what happened to this nickel. IT HAS A CHEMICALLY ALTERED SURFACE. That makes the coin and this thread very educational. We can all learn from it.

@mikediamond Thanks for clearing this up. Wish you hung around CT more often as you could put several threads like this to rest. You have a very tactful way of expressing the fact that of course the damage to this coin happened AFTER it was struck. I wish I had your patience.

 

Yes. What do you think caused it, Why is it "into" the coin's surface, and what does it signify?

 

I don't know what caused it. I have encountered a large series of BU SBA dollars that were chemically etched after the strike. I don't know what caused it in that case either, but it occurred at the Mint.

 

It is the designer's initial. F for Fraser. He designed the Buffalo Nickel. They all have this feature.