A little help needed from the Buffalo Nickel gurus

My resources are limited to what I can find online and I have found no information explaining the "mint mark" I see here. It is in the proper area for it to be a mint mark but it does not resemble a D or S or any combination of repunching there of.

 

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I think it's a D.

 

D for Damaged

 

I'm not overly familiar with the RPMs OMMS for the Buffalo apart from the more notable varieties. Clear pictures, but could you get one closeup of the MM (closer I mean)?

 

I tried to get closer but my camera won't handle it. Under magnification the area closest to the rim has die flow lines. making me believe it was struck that way.

 

Yes, I see the flowlines too. What is curious in your earlier photos was that the space between the rim and the MM looked smooth (no impact mark it seems). The glare is a little much here. Can you diffuse the source with a white plastic bag or something to soften the effect?

 

PS - your photos are better than most, especially with the magnification you are using. Backing off a smidge with the softer lighting might make perfection.

 

That is a very damaged D mintmark.

 

I'm leaning towards a damaged D. Might have taken a hit coming from 3:00.

As I have not seen any others with a similar damaged MM, I'm guessing PMD. But, new varieties are still being discovered!

 

Indeed something of a D...no way an S. In the first photo(s) before mag the damage or whatever made it look more like the 'pie' symbol than anything...wild.

 

What's the distortion above United States? Isn't that an extra roll of metal from 9 o'clock to 4 o'clock?

 

I agree, a damaged D. Keep searching and posting.

 

I think it’s a D with an N; clearly a plot or inside job by a Notre Dame or North Dakota alum working at the Denver mint.

Steve

 

Looks like a D with a scratch coming from the bottom right end of the E and extending to the rim.

 

A quick check of my reference books show nothing like your coin, and studying your photos, I would also say it was probably damage, but neat just the same as it seems to have picked the MM as the only spot to hit.

 

Looks like a bit of a collar error there which might lend to what we are trying to diagnose here. A hit from 3 sounds good. Notre Dame rogue also. As fellow associates are noting, this is likely just unique damage that creates something perplexing. I don't see an S mint in the photos provided, but it kind of looks like a vertical/horizontal D. But to @Mountain Man 's point, I didn't see any reference to such a variety. But I always like clear photos that allow folks following the thread to see what might have happened. I tend to pursue things a little further than most, even when the likely culprit has been suggested.

 

Certainly interesting.

 

I will try to get some photos in natural light tomorrow. Under a stereo microscope it doesn't appear that any material moved around the raised mark with the surfaces around it looking normal including the uninterrupted flow lines. If it is damage I would think that the raised area would be caused from material being moved from the area surrounding the mark. There actually appears to be a small hit on the mark itself.

 

I'm with you...it looks so natural that it seems like it should be something. I'm sure that we'd all like to be wrong and help identify what you have there. If nothing else, what is stumping you has me guessing too.

 

hey Hoky77 i wish i could offer the answer to this but like everybody else i cant. you got a good looking coin anyway. good luck man