What is going on with surface of this 1930 Buffalo?

I bought this 1930 Buffalo Nickel on eBay because of two factors. 1. Was the color and 2. Was because of what is going on on the obverse of the coin. Examining it in hand, the surface looks like missing metal in a large swath across the obverse. What could cause this? My thoughts were of a possible large thin detached lamination, but there is luster present within the affected area. So I thought maybe it's die deterioration, but that does not quite make sense to me either. Could it be a strike though of some sort or possibly improper annealing that did not soften the planchet enough prior to striking? If that's what happened, then how does there appear to be a "shadow" of the main front feather? I am wanting to expand my knowledge and I know there are a lot of bright minds in here. So what say you?

 

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This does not compute. @Treashunt, I hope to learn something from the OP's post.

Let's narrow the choices:

1. PMD
2. Worn Die
3. Struck Thru
4. Acid Etch
5. Planchet Flaw
6. Lamination

IMO, it is NOT PMD, Die wear, or Lamination. I see evidence for two of the above.

 

Beautiful coin but not sure what the real issue is. The rim is weak above LIBERTY and on the exact opposite side by the lowest feather. The top of the letters in LIBERTY and the lowest portion of the feather also suffer the same weakness. It's not from wear as the remaining surface has great details. I would suggest that there was something across the face of the coin when it was struck, possibly cloth. It's not from tape as the edges are not in a straight line but rugged and we all know what grease looks like. What's the reverse of this great looking coin look like?

 

Well I don't think it's PMD as the surface looks unmolested post strike. There is luster within the perimeters of the anomaly.

Here is the reverse. It show's no signs of what is going on with the obverse.

 

Not sure but I like it! Is it possible for a coin to look better in the photo then in hand? Great picture Justin! I'm thinking #3 @Insider

 

My current money is on "struck thru thin cloth," but that's looking at it on my phone. Opinion may change when I see it on a better screen tonite.

 

I would be thinking either 3 or 5 as the likely culprit. Wouldn't acid etching leave a raised surface on the coin? My thought being that the die received the acid etching and not the coin. The surface of the coin in the effected area is below the surrounding surfaces.

 

Anything is possible. But I try to keep the image faithful to the coin in hand under a bright light.

 

The only thing I cannot rule out is a strike through, but I have no idea what. As for your "shadow", it is the wrong angle. But did you notice the bottom on the obverse. There is another funky (for the lack of a better word) area there. I guess it is possibly a bad planchet, but I cannot dream how that would cause a surface like that.

@Lehigh96 is a nickel expert and a metallurgist. Maybe he has an idea.

 

Yeah that "Funkiness" covers quite a bit of the obverse. It's along the top of the obverse on the rim and all over.

 

Here's an image that will let you take a closer look. In this case, you can see what I see. My apologies to those with slower internet speed.

 

Had this seen a lot of circulation, my first thought would be a metal detecting find and it would look like surface corrosion.

 

Just throwing it out there. I'm wondering, could it have been taped in an old blue Whitman album for years? It almost looks like tape lines. I've cleaned a lot of coins with glue residue on them I had taped in old albums as a kid. However, I've never seen glue residue damage or corrode the surface of a coin like yours, besides the toning or coloring. Just a thought.

 

@Lehigh96 is a nickel expert and a metallurgist. Maybe he has an idea.

Then before he tells us what happened, here is what I'll GUESS w/reasons.

#3. Struck thru. This was my first impression; and most likely; however, I can't think of anything at the Mint that would cause this appearance or spread the effect all over.

#4. Acid Etch. I quickly changed my original thought to an etched surface because there appears to be a "curved flow" in the middle of the head and across the feathers. Often when acid is applied to a coin it exposes the underlying crystalized surface. A War nickel on a split planchet has waves that line up parallel - just not as close as these do.

#5. Struck on flawed or defective Planchet. Based on what I see and what I ruled out, this is my choice. The "kicker" was this:

Note that the characteristic roughness lines up horizontally wherever it is visible - on the rim above "Liberty" and across the face. Down the feather and under the bust. IMO, a struck thru would not do this leaving a large space in between.

Now, I shall change my mind - again rather than type a new post. I choose #4 "Chemically Altered Surface."

Bottom line @Treashunt I don't know nothing for sure except I want the coin!

 

You image does not work on the net for me and I have high speed cable. I saved it to my desk top and played there. It look to me like there are 2 different things going on. Here is a section of you picture. If you look closely, you can see where the stuff on the face ends and the edge stuff begins. Pardon my technical word "stuff", but I don't know what else to say.

 

Good point!. I thought it looked like chewed up surface rather that tape/glue residue. Acetone one little spot as a test to see if it comes off. Don't do the entire coin in case some of the color comes off. TJ may get the prize.

 

No! That would take the luster off first. That coin has luster on the top and bottom of those waves.

 

You made me giggle as that's exactly what I would call it "stuff", but George Carlin would have another word for it, because it's not "his stuff".

Acetone won't remove it. As it is not something "on" the surfaces but rather part of the surface of the coin. It almost has the look of metal rot where flakes of the surface have corroded away, yet there is luster there.

It's these sorts of coins that really get my interest. I'm surprised it's as baffling as it is. But that's what makes this a fun mystery.

 

It's certainly not residue as the affected areas are recessed below the surrounding surface. I've seen tape and glue before and this is not it.

What it looks kind of like is it was struck through really thin crepe paper.

 

Acetone DOES NOT remove mint luster only haze. That's why I said to try on a small spot as a test. If ANY haze is removed it can be restored VERY EASILY.

Since OP say it is not "on" the coin, I'll stick with chemically etched. Where is @leahg82?