This well worn 1921 Buffalo might have been minted in San Fran. Perhaps I am trying to hard to justify that! Upon close examination there appears to be a mint mark located in the appropriate position. If so, it would have to be an S since Denver did not mint Buffalo's that year. Also the top of the mint mark appears to have the S shape to it. I hope the pictures are clear enough. I would appreciate comments and thoughts. Thanks.
Could be i believe its worth some treatment.Are the front legs just damaged etc from circulation or possibly a greaser?.It sure is in rough shape,has good detail underneath.
As already stated, could be. Youll need to put it in acetone or something for a few days and that crud might come off.
In my opinion, the coin has been in the ground for some time and is considered damaged . There's no cleaning this one up, sorry . Try all you want, Lord knows I have ! . I've dug plenty and none were worth cleaning .
Really? 1921 S is a key date. It is definately worth cleaning up. Worth far more than most even in its condition. https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/938/nickels/buffalo/1921-S/
Like I said, Its damaged and will always be that way . Clean it up, go ahead see what happens . IMO. Not to rain on your "Parade" .
Thanks for all of the responses. For the time being I will let it sit while I ponder whether it will get a acetone makeover.
An acetone soak won't hurt it's value, but I doubt you have any mint mark. All of the buffalo nickels, Type II, are protected enough that I believe you'd see more, unless the MM took a direct hit and was obliterated. Push comes to shove, use Nick-o-date. It may ruin your coin more than it is, but collectors looking to fill a slot pay way over face value for key dates.
It is just corrosion/damage with the appearance of a S but not the same size of the real mint mark, IMO, Jim
