Howdy, folks! I recently got one of the nicest buffalo nickels I have purchased so far for my collection. I bought it as an XF, but in hand I think it is higher. I am not good at grading these nickels above XF, as the line between AU and MS becomes quite blurry for me. What do you all think? Regardless, this is my favorite series (tied sometimes with trade dollars) so I am thrilled to have it in my book. It has mostly beautiful toning. Something is happening on the obverse that makes it cloudy, which I don't like.
Maybe one of those over used dies as it seems at least AU if it hasn't been cleaned and it doesn't look it. And maybe MS as stated above.
I'm absolutely terrible at guessing grades for buffalo nickels, but that is definitely a nice looking coin. Are those lines at the top of his forehead scratches or just leftovers from a weak strike? The reverse looks beautiful though, which would make me think there was less circulation wear and more strike-quality issues on the obverse. But then again, I really am not very well-versed with this series, so I could be 100% wrong.
Decent strike and it appears to be a strong AU. These pictures are not conducive to a proper grading assessment, though.
