When searching nickels would you rather find a buffalo/liberty nickel or a war nickel? I would much rather find a buffalo or liberty in G4 or better than a war nickel.
All things being equal (ie Buff or Lib is as "common" as a War), I would rather have the war. For now, I can sell a common war for more.
G4 or better leaves a lot to be desired. Lets just say all of the above in G4, I would take the war nickle due to melt value.
Let's see here, from searching 1175 rolls of nickels I have found: 1906 1929S 1936 1936D 1937 1938D Dateless Buffalox2 1942P (silver) 1942Sx2(silver) 1943Px4 (silver) 1943Sx2 (silver) 1944P (silver) 1944D (silver) 1945Px2 (silver) 1945Dx2 (silver) 1945Sx5 (silver) I have found seven Buffalo nickels, one Liberty Head nickel and twenty War nickels. In terms of ratios this equates to 1:1175 when comparing Liberty Head nickels found to rolls searched, 1:168 for Buffalo nickels and 1:59 for War nickels. My experience has been that War nickels are far more commonly found than Buffalo and (especially) Liberty Head nickels. It may be said that no results are typical so maybe Buffalo and Liberty nickels are simply more common in your searching radius than mine.
Lately the average for me has been about 5 buffs a per 100 dollars and 2 to 3 wars. I have found 2 liberties. God has really been blessing me. I search nickels more for a collection stand point than for silver.
Wow, with those results, you should go wipe the banks in your area clean of nickels. I have yetto find a buff or liberty, and average 1-2 wars per box... I have been through probably 12-13 boxes.
They have all come from brinks rolls. Today wasn't good though out of 200 dollars in nickels 150 were solid 2004s. Stay faithful to god and he will bless you.
I don't find as many Buffers as Wars, but let me qualify this choice. I would rather find a nice VF Buffer like the 1936 I found today than a War - curiously my War find is here: It is the second worse War nickel I have found yet, notice even how thin it is - it was a roll ender. I probably find one Buffer for an average of 5-6 War nickels. Libs are scarce, the last time I found some was a bank bag of $25 last month that produced 2 Libs - a 1906 and a 1907.
Practically, the dozens of war nickels I've found over the past year are more valuable, especially since finding a few small barter groups through here. If the person with whom I'm trading is on the fence, one or two pieces of silver for which I only paid a few cents might change their mind about a trade. However, I've found exactly one Liberty head roll-hunting. It was certainly more exciting to find a more novel coin, even though it was in pretty lousy shape. My logical, rational side says go for the silver, but my heart beats faster when I find a no-date buffalo than a war nickel.
I have found about 20 or so Libs in the past couple of years. Earliest very worn out 1890 with the date barely legible. I have maybe 80-90 Buffers and about 310 War nickels now.
War Nickels would be better since a common one is worth more, but Buffs hold a special place in my heart.
