old buffalo/indian head nickle no date

does anyone know a site that has info on this type of nickle i was looking at it a realized there was no date anywhere then i heard that the buffalo nickles with no dates were very old,no sure if true or not but would like to find some info on it,thanks

 

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Yes, they are old, possibly back to 1913 which is when the Buffalo series was introduced. They have no date because they are highly circulated coins with the date and other "devices" worn off from use.

 

Buffalo nickels were produced from 1913 til 1938.

 

Dateless Buffalo Nickels

Hi Stardust,

As had been said the buffalo nickels without dates have been worn past a collectors use. However there are companies who use these nickels to make jewelry such as belt buckels, ear rings, braclets ect.. They are a popular coin for this purpose.

catman

 

They are also a great way to get children interested in the hobby.

 

They are, of course, at least 67 years old, but its true that the dateless ones are among the oldest - frequently 1913s - for two reasons:

• the older a coin is, the more chance it has had to sustain circulation wear , and (more importantly)
• 1913s are particularly susceptible to losing their date because it was a high point in the design for roughly the first half of the production run.

More than 38-million Variety 1 coins were produced at all three mints, with the date on "raised ground". The last 35-million+ at the three mints are Variety 2, with the field for the date recessed.

Acid is sometimes used to bring out the date, but most serious buffalo collectors frown on that technique, as artificial damage to the coin.

 

I have also seen acid used to bring out design details on these, especially the horn. A tremendous amount of eye appeal is lost when this technique is used as it leaves the surface very flat and the details that are brought out are light and faint.

 

That's how my 7 year old got hooked (he was 5 at the time). A dealer let him pick a free coin out of a bargain box. What did he pick? A dateless buffalo.

Bill

 

And a cheap way to fill holes in a Buffalo collection.

 

The date was the highest feature on the buffalo nickel and they wore off quickly. It is easy to find even pieces from the last few yearsof production that almost have the date worn off.