The 21S looks like a two feathers variety. The MM looks to be in the wrong place. I would be leery if the 26' came from the same collection.
I enlarged the photo. The "S" is very strange looking, no? Although out of focus, it is either altered or damaged Mintmark.
I don't have much if any experience weeding out fake Buffalos, but I don't like what I'm seeing between CENTS and the rim on that 21-S reverse. It reminds me of false details that I've seen on counterfeits of other denominations. As @Collecting Nut said, it looks like the S took a hit at the top - but that "loop" at the bottom coming out of the rim worries me. If I had these coins and wasn't sure they were fakes, I'd definitely send them to ICG or ANACS for authentication. If they're real and not cleaned or otherwise damaged, they're each solid three-figure coins IMHO. (The 21-S looks VF to me. The 26-S looks solidly XF, and that date has a big jump from VF to XF.)
As noted, the mint mark on the 21-S is in the wrong location. It either took a very coincidental hit that moved the metal almost a full with of the S to the right, or it's someone's lame attempt at an added mint mark. There's no evidence of a deep cut to the rim or the adjacent C, which is suspicious considering the movement of metal of the S. There seems to be a deep cut to the left of the mint mark. I can interpret this as someone scraping up enough metal to try to form an S, sort of. You'd need to have a pro look at it in hand. I'm not sure if anyone would authenticate it with the MM that far off and mangled.
It is a fake which appears to mimic a Venetian design. It also has nothing to do with the topic of this thread about Buffalo nickels. What made you decide to post it here, of all places?
My wife always says... "My Husband!" after she finds a problem in the house like leaving the toilet seat up. "Hey! It could have been the cat. This also has nothing to do with the topic of this thread.
I bought it online from a coin store in Portland, OR. I will be sending it back. I didn't notice it till I examined the coin on my loupe and compared it to all the other "S" mint marks on my album. I wanted to upgrade my fine grade 21S to VF.
Let's assume these coins are real 1921-S and 1926-S around EF uncleaned. That puts their value at around $1000 each. IDK what you paid but let's say you got a good deal on them. The seller knows the authentic coins are worth that much so why not have them graded and sell them for more money? Both of the S mint marks look bad. You can't buy key coins that aren't authenticated because people are greedy thieves. The 1926 looks better than EF and that raises the value. I assume whoever put the false mint marks on them probably dipped them as well.
I collect them for my album. I graded them as VF, leaning on the conservative side. That is the grade I paid for both of them.
