I just acquired this beautiful specimen and was hoping to get some light shed upon it. Is it a business strike or a matte proof? Any comments would be appreciated!
See how the word LIBERTY kinda fades into the rim? That's pretty much a tell tale sign of a business strike. (but I've been wrong before) I think only 1520 minted so I'm not sure about a worn proof die.
Not a Matte Proof unfortunately. You can tell by the rims not being even and flat with an almost knife edge and as @Markus1959 mentioned LIBERTY is not fully separated from the rim. It does look like a really nice MS example. I would say a good shot at GEM. I hope you are keeping it in an Air-Tite or other hard plastic holder to protect it. I'd be a happy owner of it for sure, these are my weakness..
Cool, thanks for the info. A little disappointing but it was unrealistic to expect a proof type. Appreciate the feedback!
There are specific die markers for the proof varieties of Buffalo Nickels. I thought I had a link to the diagnostic but I can't find it at the moment. I would refer to the diagnostic before sending it in for professional grading/certification. In the condition it is in, it may not be worth that investment as a business strike.
