Nic-A-Date Test

UPDATE: after about 6 days in vinegar with a pinch of salt I appear to have a 1914-S nickel!

 

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Holy Crap. Does that really not damage the coin?

 

Yes, it does damage the coin! Badly enough that many wouldn't have it. But!!! there are some who wish to fill a blank rare album hole and will use such a damaged coin for that purpose. The original coin was only worth cents, the acid found date of 1914-S makes it worth more to those who will collect them.

 

Yes, But......
You started with a dateless nickel that might have been worth 10¢. After it was damaged and the date was readable, it might be worth several dollars. If he were lucky enough to find a 1913-S, they go for $50 - $100 after being treated. 1918/17 go for more. Just as a caution, though, if that date were at all readable as a 13-S, it might go for over $200.

 

WOW. Does it only work for nickels??

 

Dang... This thread inspired me to order a bottle and play around.

These both came out of my first roll. 1914 D and 1913 D Type II. I'm gonna toss em on EBay as fillers and see what they do. Might pay for my bottle of nic-a-date.

 

FWIW, I much prefer the look of nickels soaked in vinegar. I brings out more detail on the rest of the coin and it does not show the discoloration where the nic-a-date was used. Having said that, I am in the category of those who do not own any of them.

 

Sometimes they turn out pretty nice.

 

I got 11 dollars for face from a dealer, I thought vinegar would be more better if I found a key date. All of them are type 2... In your opinion if there were 2 1914 D nickels in the EXACT same condition but one was nic-a-dated and one was vinegar which one would you buy?

 

Sometime back, around 1975, I began binning spare change based on what denomination it was. I had a pail for what was collectible, and one for pennies, one for wheat pennies (got them so often back then they got their own pail) one for sandwich dimes, quarters and one for nickels, either Jeffersons (mostly 64s of course) and undated buffaloes. When congress passed a law banning the melting down of nickel, I missed the news. Went through my wife's own collection of coins (she too had a bin which was a single 5 gallon paint can) and threw all the non-dated collectible nickels into my Jefferson bin. Dumb me. I used to tell her the nickel bin was where the big money was, because of the melt value. In 2012 I started to reduce holdings and I was horrified to discover nickel (and copper) US coins could no longer be sold as scrap metal. About 60 or 70 pounds worth of Jefferson and un-dated Buffalo nickels therefore went into local coinstar machines. Now, with hindsight, I wish someone had told me then about nic-a-date.

 

What is the process for soaking them in vinegar? Just put it in? Add something to it? I want nic-a-date but I might as well use what I have around the house!

 

I am doing my first test on 9 nickels now. Put the face up in white vinegar and add a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide. People say soaking it in just vinegar can take weeks. Mine have soaked for 1 day in this solution and can see all but maybe 3 dates. Something about the peroxide that speeds up the process. Found a 1914 D in my tray!. This could get addicting!

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Yeah shortstack....But they wanted to charge me $7.87 to ship it bringing the
total to $ 12.37

 

Yeah,Vinegar is a LOT cheaper and no shipping charges.

 

Brings back memories of years ago when I bought a couple rolls of dateless (at $3/roll) and hung out in the chem lab with a bottle of 90% HNO3 under a fume hood.

Oh, to be young and stupid. Now, I'm not young anymore

 

Me Too Oldhoopster

 

Bringing back this old Thread.
Bought 1,000 dateless Buffalos last week for $0.08 each. I have used nic-a-date on 500 so far. Found P,D,S Type II 1913, (2) 1926 S, (3) 1914 S, (1) 1931 S, and many other D and S dates. I hope to complete a folder when finished.

 

Before and after photos please?

 

Does the Nic-A-Date turn the buffalos ghost white like the vinegar/peroxide solution does?

 

I did not take any before photos. I can when I start on the next batch in a couple weeks. As for after photos, I might be able to when finished with batch 2.

Yes, Nic-A Date does leave a white spot where applied to the coin. You only need a tiny drop and usually within a couple minutes the date comes through. If left on too long, the area turns dark brown or black. Some coins will not reveal the date with multiple applications.