You are literally guessing the grade on this one because there is no grade. I haven't had a buffalo nickel in a long while but I couldn't resist buying this one. Am I crazy thinking it's AU? My collector goggles may be over estimating it, but I tried to compare it to certified versions. Also, hate to ask, but, realistic retail value? Sorry, in advance, for the pictures. Thank you for any responses.
It's a slightly weak strike, and kind of hard to tell with those photos at an angle to tell if it has any problems. I see nothing that says it is anything lower than an AU.
I think AU58 or MS64 as I dont see a lot of hits. If buying online make sure this is the coin you will receive and not a stock photo as it is quite nice, from what I can see from the pictures.
@Razz Thank you for the response. I bought the coin in a world dealer's bin. I took the pictures. Sorry, I tried to show it an an angle to highlight surface problems, if any.
Yes, it appears to be a weak strike, especially on the buffalo (bison for those anal retentive) head (according to The Authoritative Reference on Buffalo Nickels, buy Wexler, Pope & Flynn: "The mot serious striking issue often seen with this date is the lack of a full horn and adjacent weakness in the hair detail surrounding it.") , but I believe I am seeing some possible circulation wear on the bow holding the feathers in his hair, which would tell me AU and the highest end, so AU58. All in all, a very nice coin. Value? About $80 raw, give or take.
AU58 for me too! However, in hand it could be a low MS. The AU% is from the wat it looks in the pictures!!!
I did one of these threads with this one: We, myself included,swore up and down it was mid to upper MS. Came back from NGC... "Whizzed" I saved it. I look at it in it's details slab and still struggle to see how it's whizzed but the authority has spoken. I would need a sharper picture of yours to even throw a wild guess out there. There's no way to tell if yours has been cleaned from the photos and lighting.
