Help with an...Old Buffalo Nickel

Just found my first buffalo nickel and noticed it had no date. After researching seems it's a very commen thing with these coins. I looked threw YouTube and saw there are two methods to trying and pull up a date. 1 was the nic-a-date chemical which seems harsh. 2 the vinegar and peroxide. Has anybody used that method and did it work seems to not harm the coin as much as the nic-a-date. Thank for any help and as always HappyHunting.

 

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Congratulations finding a buffalo for the first time!!! My first buffalo was also very worn and had no date at all except a very faint 191? Try rotating the coin in the light to look for a faint shadow of the numbers. Good luck!!!

 

Either way it doesn't matter much, as the coin is so worn it's beyond collectible status.

 

You should keep it though to always remember that second when it slipped out of the roll and you jumped out of your chair or whatever and screamed because you were so excited!

 

If you want to know the date on that nickel, you can put it in a mix of white vinegar and salt. Leave it for a day or two and the day should show. It will be considered a damaged coin BUT as it is, it really isn't worth anything anyways. Just a thought.
Congrats on finding a Buff. Always a fun find

 

White vinegar will work on some but do not soak for very long as it will etch the surfaces on the coin. Try it for 30 minutes and see what happens. Make sure and rinse with distilled water. Nic-A-Date is a last resort. No longer than 20 seconds and wipe with a soft cloth right away or it will leave a black residue. If nothing or not much comes up try again the same way. Many will disagree on cleaning any coins but in this condition it really does not matter.

 

Since it doesn't appear to be on a mound (1913),
or have a mint mark. (Often the early mint mark dates can be valuable.)
There's not a lot of risk if you want to make the date appear. However,
the coin will be whiter and considered "etched".
You can just let it sit in some white vinegar with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide.
Half hour, hour, 2 hours, whatever. And then rinse. About 75% of the time after this has been done, if you look in a good light, and tilt the coin around (loupe is good)
you will see the date. If it was a valuable coin, it isn't anymore. But when it is dateless, it is also in the 25 cent max range.

 

Wow thanks 4all the info.... I can't even Express my shock whn I grabbed the nickel b4 this one and then saw the Indian head jst staring at me and def I was speechless and shaking lol. T I do no it's not worth much due to its ware n tear so def I wld love 2 try and get a date jst 4me. Thanks everybody

 

Buffalo nickels without dates are extremely common. There are several methods for "revealing" the date, including several harsh chemicals. All of these are damaging the coin, however, and should be avoided.

Fact is, you have a dateless Buffalo nickel. These are incredibly common, and often used for jewelry, belt buckles, and other sorts of "western" bric-a-brac. It's worth a bit less than a dollar, and any damage you do to it to reveal the date will make it less attractive.

 

You may be able to see the date without doing anything.
You get a super bright light. (I use my bathroom heat lamp 3 250 bulbs).
Then you use a loupe, and tilt the coin around at different angles, and
you may see part of a date, that you can't see under normal light.
I've had partial success with this system with hard to see dates. Flying eagles, buffaloes, etc.

 

I remember finding these in change along with LWCs dating to there first year and even a couple IHCs. As a boy they seemed ancient and fascinating and these finds are what developed my interest in collecting. When I acquire early low grade wheaties and nickels today I selectively spend them in places a child might make a purchase and get one back in change hoping to inspire a new young collector. Just a thought.

 

I have quite a hoard of no date buffalo’s. I like to give them to kids. I did get curious about doing the vinegar/peroxide date remediation. I did twenty no date buffalos and came up with a shadow of a questionable date on twelve of them. The trade off is that the nickel becomes ghost white in the process. I figure I started with a nickel and ended with a nickel. There is some validity to raising a date with the stuff, but the trade off was not worth it. Ghost white nickels are pretty ugly.

 

No-date Buffernicks are a great alternative to cavity-inducing sweets on Halloweeen!

Give out some Wheaties, some Buffernicks... maybe make a new numismatist!

 

I was thinking of using the vinegar and peroxide solution on a q-tip and jst layg it on the date spot... since it's my 1st buffalo I really don't want 2mess it up but gosh there is sumthg also about seeing a date even if just for a moment but that just might be me.

 

Waste of time in my opinion, but opinions are like posteriors......everyone has one.

 

Some people a good at this. You have to be careful on eBay because there is quite a herd of Buffalo that have regrown a full horn. Some sellers are truthful about this and some aren't.

 

I found mine in a bank roll. I clean this bank at night and knw everybody there so they are a great hook up 4 Bill's and coins, but got lucky with this 1 from a coin roll.

 

It's good to know someone on the inside. The teller I go to assumed I was looking for wheaties which is partially true but mistakes were my priority. One Fri. when I came in for some fresh rolls she gave me 6 that she saved for me. 5 were teens and twenties and a full roll of steelies. I went right back after I saw them and asked if the same customer had turned in anything else. She gave me 2 nickel rolls and 1 dime and the lights came on. She kept the quarters. Newest dime 1964 and half a dozen mercs. That was a great night!

 

Wow definitely it's good to have some 1 inside lol they save all the star notes they find also.... lol I even treat them with lunch sometimes to keep them happy... Win Win situation

 

Well the simple laying the Q-tip with vinager and peroxide didn't do anything after 25mins. But 8mins submerged and Bam!!! Wow we all were glued to the screen when we all saw it....lol 1917 I'm a happy person right now lol