I'am getting a kick out of driving around to local banks trying to find rolls of these new nickels. I've been lucky and have been able to get at least 20 "P" rolls. I have opened up half of them and found quite a few with "filled" letters and some with die cracks. What is amazing is how banged up these coins are. Every single one has some sort of gouge in it, especially on the obverse. I have off of work on Monday and plan on trying a few other banks. Just having fun I guess,LOL.
I have got about 120 "D" rolls from the local banks (at face value), man it's like pulling teeth. Very hard to find. My source now says they are out and no more, bummer. They are pretty banged up as well, better than the P's I got from the mint. Found a few prooflike examples with no nicks, nice. Found tons of errors. Still have a lot to go through. May take a while.
I've been checking eBay quite often and still haven't run across any of the new, circulation-strike Buffaloes graded any higher than MS-65 that are slabbed by the major grading services. The coins were released almost 2 months ago, so you would think that SOME would have had the opportunity to receive a grade above MS-65 by now... To be fair, however, there are still millions upon millions of these coins that remain in their original Mint wrappers (and bags) that haven't seen the light of day since they were released by the Mint. Perhaps some of those wrappers and bags will contain untold treasures. Additionally, the Mint is making new Buffaloes and maybe (I'm crossing my fingers) they'll treat them with a little better care. All in all, this appears to be a coin that may be quite difficult to obtain in the extremely high grades.
When 1971 IKES first appeared, the same thing occured. Strikes were weak and finding specimens with grades of MS65 or better were rare. Well...a 1971-P IKE today accurately graded MS65 sells for around $100 to $150 (depending on who you talk to). Sure they minted millions, but decent ones are hard to come by. Who knows??, maybe 2005 Bison Nickels 30 years from now may carry a premium. When mint sets are eventually released, it will be interesting to see how well (or not) Bison nickels grade out.
Midas, thats a very good point. Finding gem mint 2005 buffalo nickels look to be like finding needles in haystacks. I even opened up a P&D 2 roll U.S. Mint set and even those we're banged up. It looks like buying the 1000 coin bags from the Mint are in order and hopefully pulling some gems out of the bags. I honestly think these we're poorly made purposely to gain interest.
Believe me, I am no expert, but I think bags or rolls make no difference. They are shipped from the Mint in huge contianers, and a private source bags/rolls them on contract - this is how I understand it. The same nickels go into each type of package. at least therolled coins are not banging around while on the way to your house. Mint sets MIGHT give some better examples.
WHAT, U guys r lucky just to get Bisons!!! my banks are lazy and I sadly have to pay the 4.50 per roll at the store
The only bank I have found that has any is a tiny branch in middle of know-where. They will only give me 5 rolls at a time, and not more on same day. It is my bank, just not my normal branch. I just keep going back, eventually they will run out and I will be S.O.L. Now my main branch told me she would call me when they order the next set of nickels. Any amount I need. JD
The bank sold me 13 more "D" rolls today. No more errors, Dang! All these prooflike examples keep gettin in the way.
Proof likes? I find it hard to sympathize...many of us are havng a hard time finding the buffalos, let alone ones in "proof-like"condition.
Hi all. Just found a Jefferson Bison in my cash draw. I like it. A real interesting looking coin. Curious to see how they wear over time.
My bank got me a box and I can get as many more as I want...no limit.... I also have found some in change. Speedy
I did a lot of legwork to get my "bank Bisons" but I also spent a lot of money at the mint to get their rolls and bags which I crack open reducing their resale value. Sadly most of the bisons with the prooflike surfaces have nicks and I'm not doing anything special with them. I have however found a few that I put aside in 2x2's that have very few to almost no nicks. Errors? Too many to count!!!!! I still have too many rolls to go though. At least it gives me something to do over the next few months if my eyes don't give out first.
I think one of the reasons that good, clean coins will be hard to find is that the field on the obverse (the area that doesn't include the picture of Jefferson) is so large that it will be impossible for it not to pick up a lot of bag marks.
Bacchus: Sorry I didn't answer sooner. Just now saw your post. Delta is 280 miles from Denver. We're on the Western Slope of the Rockies.