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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 6892707, member: 27832&quot;]There have been more than a few threads here about date restoration. Something about the striking process for nickels makes it work really well on them, more so than on coins made from other metals.</p><p><br /></p><p>Any date-restoration process is going to result in an ungradeable &quot;details&quot; coin. It damages, corrodes, the surface. But a dateless Buffalo nickel has already lost any numismatic premium, so in a sense &quot;there&#039;s nothing to lose&quot;. (Maybe someday there&#039;ll be a way to use X-ray diffraction to read a hidden date out of sub-surface microstructure without damaging the coin -- maybe.)</p><p><br /></p><p>One drawback of Nic-a-date is that it leaves a stained spot on the coin where you apply it, and that spot looks different from the rest of the coin. Some people instead soak <i>the whole coin</i> in acid; white vinegar is quite effective. Do it that way, and you&#039;re still trashing the coin&#039;s surface, but it will <i>look</i> better, with a uniform texture and with detail restored <i>all over</i> the coin, including mint mark, horn, tail, and feathers.</p><p><br /></p><p>A key-date Buffalo with a restored date can still pull a premium on a site like eBay. I believe TPGs will still slab them, although I&#039;m not sure that will always be the case, and they&#039;ll only be slabbed as Details coins. Look for ones with mint marks; as I recall, the only significant key Philadelphia Buffalo nickel is the 1916/16 overdate, and those are <i>very</i> scarce. The odds that you&#039;ll find one are tiny. But if you&#039;re just chucking a dozen nickels at a time into a (glass or ceramic or plastic) bowl of vinegar, the overhead is low. It takes a few hours to a day or more to bring up detail. Leave them in too long, and you&#039;ll dissolve away too much nickel, leaving a shrunken copper-colored slug.</p><p><br /></p><p>My personal take is that a vinegar soak produces a more appealing result, doesn&#039;t stain, and is a LOT cheaper than Nic-a-date. It&#039;s also useful for household cleaning. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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