Grading the Buffalo Nickel

Observing the P mint Buffaloes exclusively, i dont understand pricing.... Looking at MS63 for example, the '17p '18p '23p & '24p are valued at $150 and above.... The same grade- Ms63 for the '13p-T2 '14p '28p '30p & '34p are all around $75 +/- . What i dont get is why? Is the survival rate seriously doubled, compared to the first set of dates? The price would indicate so. The mintage is around the same for ALL of these coins listed above, approximately 20-30 million. Is the 1st group of coins THAT much more scarce than the 2nd group? Or is this a case of the greysheet/price guides being manipulated by dealers and/or the prices need re-worked and havent been updated in 20-30 years???????

 

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I would attribute that to strike.....with so many weak strikes the number of 63 and above coins are not available .
Say an unc. Weak strike makes a MS 60-61,a soft strike in unc. Makes 62-63 , full strikes unc. 64 and up.
So the population of 64 plus grades may be lower .
So one needs to consider strike as one of the first and foremost ,along with luster .

 

Well, i didnt even consider that....
Good call

 

So at the next flea market you should be shopping hammered Buffalo's

 

Ok bear with my ignorance but I'm taking a stab at this. I am grading the first coin MS-65. I believe it is an overall lighter strike than the 2nd coin. I'm looking on the reverse, the hairline above the front left leg is weaker. The observe looking at the vertical line that turns to the left above the braid does not appear as strong as it should be. I'm grading the second coin MS-65 as well even though I think it is a stronger strike overall the LIBERTY is weaker than the first coin. As I've said in a recent post, I'm new at this so go easy on me if I'm way off here.

 

Picked up this fine specimen today under $20 ,I'm at 64 + on this one ,also thinking it's a D/D. 007

 

Ok pardon my newbieness still but I'm not seeing the D/D. I say this after reviewing a D/D on another site for reference. Here was what I looked to compare.

http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/93984

On a side note, I'm looking forward to using some of the grading skills I've been learning from you guys at my first big coin show this coming weekend.

 

There's about 14 known 1938 D rpm's as well as omm's and this one is one of the hardest to determine . Some just hit you in the face others are not so easy...but I assure you the diagnosis is correct as the die scratches and other pup's are correct! This isn't one that you can tell unless you have the specimen in hand .
This site you chose to I'd the variety isn't the best. There are others that give better details as well as 3 or more
images to see the rpm.
I just posted on another thread about the 1943 P war nickel .
There are over 70 known RPM ' S some again hit you right in the face others don't . I also recommend reference books on nickels. You can't rely on the CPG for being 100% correct or can you count on PCGS or NGC as they only attribute a small number of varieties . As Anacs will attribute all variety coins as long as you have the attribution by a known expert in writing .

 

The one you tagged here is one that PCGS will list on a slab as a variety . It's the best of the variety ,on the 1938 D/D Buffalo.
Again NGC or PCGS aren't the best references on variety coins. My experience dealing with either grading services they tend to shy away from giving attributions of variety coins unless they are best of varieties .

 

Boy am I in for an education. Just performed another google search reference die varieties and I have quite a bit of reading now to keep me busy. Lol.

 

Yes....but it's fun researching as you learn more and more......and the more you learn the more you want to learn.
One reason I love variety collecting.

 

ActionJack Here's your first lesson....tell me about this 1938 D Buffalo nickel Mint mark? No help please from the Studio Audience.
Is it an RPM, OMM ,a die chip, swamp gas, or all of the above?
@ActionJack

 

Swamp gas and Mylar weather balloons, but I'll keep my mouth shut..........

 

Hint - it is not a 1937-D 3 Legged

 

Edited

 

OK, you are doing a great job at confusing me. I don't think it is a RPM because it doesn't appear to be a D underneath the mint mark. I don't think it is an OMM because I don't think that is a S underneath the mint mark however it kind of looks like an OMM to me because it appears the D was struck over another impression.

AHA!!! I think I've got it, I did a bit more research before hitting send and I think I've found it. It is in fact an OMM! It's a 1938-D OMM-004. Here is the link to what I think it is.
http://www.varietyvista.com/03 Buffalo Nickels/1938DOMM004.htm

 

Well it is and isn't an omm. Some say yes others including the person whom listed it now say no. I will post mine when it returns from Anacs. However you are correct good job.

 

This coin research is getting addictive. I received another book in the mail today, Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection.

 

#1 - Weak strike, not great luster, a few small ticks, and fair eye view. 64 or 64+

#2 - Another weak strike, but real nice luster, several ticks mostly well hidden by the colors, eye appeal is a plus, but blotchyness and spots are negatives. 64

 

Learn to trust your own eyes! There may be many RPM's for this date but one such as this (Post#26) will not get any respect. I see nothing of consequence either. Now, just because some doubling may be present at say 100X, professionals call this type of collecting "micro numismatics."

The only collectors willing to pay a premium for such a coin (if it actually is RPM-057.89 er..RPM-7) are those trying to assemble a "complete" set of RPM's for a particular date. Some of the weakest RPM's are worth more money to those folks as the micro variety may be much more scarce.