I am wanting to branch out from wheats into the buffalo and shield nickels. Any advise? What should I keep an eye out for?
For Buffalo's, I would say the following: 1. Before you buy much, get Lange's Complete Guide to Buffalo's and read it. This is definitive and an excellent reference. Q David Bowers also has a Buffalo/Jefferson book that is of interest and there are a couple of others (The Authoritative Guide by Wexler, Pope and Flynn is particularly good on die varieties). 2. If you are buying Mint State, watch for "messed with" coins. Buffalo's are pretty notorious for this as many do not tone attractively and get overdipped. I would learn as early as possible the value of original skin. 3. Strike varies greatly by mint and by year. Lange's guide is great on this and gives a lot of advice as to what to look for in strike characteristics but I would also suggest looking at as many examples as you can. In hand is best of course but online Heritage's archives is a great place for this, as well as Bowers and Merena. 4. Matte Proofs are a great short series to collect -- there's only five of them. 5. IMO, the error coins are a bit overrated and overpriced, particularly the 3-legged 37-D. Not saying you shouldn't go after them, but be aware of the premium attached to them. There seem to be plenty of collectors whose only Buffalo is the 3-legger, which is a shame. Sorry if I prattled on. I can provide no information on Shields. They are an undercollected series. Welcome to collecting Buffalo's -- they are a great series and the most American of all our coins, I think. Enjoy it.
Thanks, I have always liked buffalos and loved the look of the shield ever since I got one (1867) at an auction for next to nothing (nobody knew what it was).
Not sure what to tell you about shield nickels. Like anything a lot of them have been cleaned, but that is nothing new. Lots of varieties to collect. I like the DDO - those are cool. You can use this http://www.shieldnickels.net/ - plus I think there is a yahoo group or something on these. Ed Fletcher is working on a new release of the book. Check out the cherry pickers guide for a few of the varieties - keep in mind that 2 of the years are only available in proof(1877, 1878). A few other dates are just expensive in business strike - 1879's and 1880 are proofs, 1881 is business strike. Actually I think these dates are cheaper in proof. Attached is my latest - low grade, but a drastic ddo.
nickels I like to collect nickels, and I'll just add my 2 cents (no pun intended): 1) Buffalos vary widely in their strike. Try to cherry pick examples that are fully well-struck. Everyone focuses on the horn of the buffalo, but I've found the tail of the buffalo to reveal weak strikes better. 2) There's been a trend recently to grade Buffalos as VF without a full horn visible. I'd reject this notion. The argument goes that it still grades a VF because it's hard to find a fully stuck specimen of that date. Well, duh, that's the challenge, isn't it? For me, VF means full horn, period. 3) Don't overlook Liberty nickels. They are a challenge to find in nice condition, grades Fine and above. 4) Shield nickels can be quite ugly when worn and darkly toned. So don't settle for inferior specimens. Cherry pick the nice ones. Also, shield nickels are fantastic for double dies, die breaks, and overdates. So if you like that, the shield nickel series would be fun for you. 5) Even the Jefferson series has a lot going for it. War nickels and full steps are examples of finding those. Whatever excites you and gives you fun, that's the series to collect. Good luck.
........you gotta get a hold of one of these. http://www.amazon.com/Cherrypickers...2851/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1248288476&sr=1-2
Putting together a set of mid-grade circulated Buffalo nickels is still affordable (Varieties excluded). Assembling a high grade set can get pricey fairly quick.
