I'd like your opinion if this 1929 S Buffalo will pass for 2 Feathers. It's pretty clean in the feather area but not perfect. You opinion?
You have two feathers but not the one your looking... it will stand out... circulation would not have worn that are down because it is a lot lower...
I don't see it listed in the Cherrypickers' Guide, but it does look like the other date specimens in the book. Hopefully someone with better knowledge of the series can confirm, but it looks good so far.
Looking at the Cherrypickers' Guide, it looks like a 2 feather variety for other dates lists for about $50 more than the normal 3 feather design for the same date. I'm not sure if that extrapolates for your date, but... How did you come about it?
I've had it for about 50 years sitting with other buffaloes. I also have a 1921 two feathers that has no trace of a third feather. I don't have a cherry pickers guide so I don't know if it's a desirable coin.
Looking forward to the photos. Take good ones for the obverse and reverse. Your fellow enthusiasts can offer a proper grade perhaps. Glad you asked the question!
IMO, as an over 15 year collector of two feathers nickels, the 1929 S does not meet the criteria of two feathers. I must admit that I have never paid a premium for the finds. These were usually in partial album purchases at coin shops or shows or from my own old coin albums. The third feather region shows a faint feather with some projection above the surrounding coin surface unlike the two feather examples shown in Cherrypickers’ Guide. The 1921 appears to be a Two Feathers variety FS-401 in Cherrypickers’ Guide. Congrats on that find! At least one dealer that I am aware of offers “2 1/2 feathers” buffalo nickels with partial third feather (without showing photos of the coin) at a significant discount to the 2 feather prices. It is possible that the 1929 s is an example of that. Dan
I can't really disagree with your assessment because the 1929 is just not as clean as the 1921. In hand it doesn't look that bad but under magnification the image breaks up a little. I appreciate your detailed response. I have no idea as to any value because it was an inherited coin. Thanks again Joe
Yes, both of your coins are of the two feather type. the hammer die was polished too much in several date years and wore the third feather away. While The Cherrypicker's Guide shows a premium for them, they are so common you can find them readily at the same cost as a three feather Buffalo. Here are a couple I have that I paid no premium for, even though the seller listed them as two feather Buffalo Nickels.
The 1929-S 2 feather is a well known date and yours seems to be a 2 feather, as does the 1921. The 1921 is not too scarce-it and the 1916 and 1925-S are the three most common dates. The '29-S is scarcer.
Because these exist due to extreme polishing of the die, you can find them in varying stages, so the 2 ½ feather is much like the 3 ½ leg Buffalo Nickel, which also occurred in some years. The one you want to add to your collection is this one, which I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of years ago.
The 1918-s 2 feather is not at all scarce and carries essentially no premium to the normal 1918-s. On the other hand, check the scarce 1918 2 feathers in the PCGS CoinFacts price guide and recent HA auctions. A 1918 2 feathers in AU-53 sold for $720 in Heritage 8/19 Auction. My guess is that these were informed bidders. That represents a huge premium to its very common 3 feather counterpart. The fact is, at least at this time, some 2 feathers carry a substantial premium.
@jafo50 Sorry for my ignorance I was completely wrong!! So I want to tell you... but from me being wrong I did learn today!! I spent what little time I did have learning about the two feather and two and half and I really didn’t realize that there about 30 other varieties of buffalo nickel I didn’t know about... I will continue to follow up a lot more on these varieties.... and again my apologies... ***love to learn even if it make me look like an ass some times...
@Mike185 No harm done so don't even give it a second thought. I'm learning the same as you. Lots of good responses though so we all learned something today. Joe
