A new buffalo joins the herd.

[Wihlborg]

I already had a very nice MS-66 graded example of a 1913d type 1 buffalo when I found this coin, yet as soon as I saw this coin I knew I had to have it. Why would I replace a nice coin with another of the same grade? The reason why is simple, it is because this coin is the most exquisite example of a 1913d type 1 buffalo that I have ever personally seen.

 

The coin’s surfaces are clean and mark free to the naked eye and its strike is needle sharp. There is full detail in the Indian’s hair, hair knot, and feathers on the obverse, and the bison’s hair, cape, shoulder and hip on the reverse. The date, mint mark, and the words ‘five cents’ are all bold and distinct, not soft and weakly struck as is commonly found.

 

In addition to the above qualities, the coin is fully lustrous and delightfully toned. The rims on both the obverse and reverse are surrounded by a vibrant orange/gold tone that fades to yellow before turning to lime green at the centers. Well, here are my scans of the coin.

 

The toning is quite pretty, and much nicer than my scan depicts. All type 1 buffalos inherently have a special look to them due to their textured fields, but when they are found with beautiful toning their eye appeal can be truly spectacular due to the way the color seems to shimmer under a light. This coin is one such example.

 

As happy as I am to have added this coin to my set, it is a bittersweet addition because as it turned out a friend of mine was interested in the coin also, but I had already bought it by the time he saw it. As he said when he congratulated me on getting it ‘Collecting is at least 50% luck’. This is so true, and hopefully next time lady luck will shine on him.

 

Enjoy

 

John

[the_Thing ®]

Wow!

[Hoot]

Exquisite! Occasionally, a T1 buffalo comes along that just leaps out from the rest. It's a rare coin, indeed, that makes that leap, but I can tell by your photos that the coin is just that way. Your coin looks like a very early die specimen, and as you say, needle-sharp devices. Denver and San Francisco T1 buffs are quite rarely comparable to the Philadelphia issues. Your coin, however, is one that stands out in any such crowd. I'm impressed by the completeness of the devices, especially the Indian's neck and the rough fields (Fraser's intent). Superb separation of LIBERTY from the rim. What might separate this coin from an MS67 piece?

 

Good job, John. As always, your excellence in collecting the wild herd is at the top of the game.

 

Hoot

[jom]

Soooo...JW...what are you going to do with that "extra" 13-D TY1 you have?

 

Nice coin, man. Good job!

 

jom

[Wihlborg]

What might separate this coin from an MS67 piece?

 

 

Hoot,

 

You ask the classic question that an experienced collector ponders whenever they gaze upon a PQ coin, and I have thought about this a few times myself as I’ve looked at the coin over the past couple of days.

 

The coin is mark free to the naked eye, and its eye appeal is superb, so in my opinion the coin’s grade could only possibly be limited by two factors, strike and/or luster. Strike wise, the words ‘liberty’ on the obverse and ‘E Pluribus Unum’ on the reverse could be a little sharper, however I have seen plenty of MS-67 graded Philly mint 1913 buffalos where these words were no better struck than on this coin. The same applies to the coin’s luster, could it be a little better? Sure, but it is by no means lacking.

 

Overall, I would say that although the coin’s strike and luster may not equal the best examples of MS-67 graded buffalos, it certainly is equal to most of the average MS-67’s I’ve seen. This leads me to believe that if resubmitted this coin could very well wind up in a MS-67 holder. On the other hand, maybe it is true that the grading companies are harder on tougher date coins.

 

John

[kryptonitecomics]

I can't understand why you bought another coin that is the same date, mint mark and grade......makes no sense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is a real stunner and I would have pulled the trigger as well......congrats on a great purchases

[Bruceswar]

that is one killer buffalo

[chinook]

John, if you keep this up there won't be any around for the rest of us!!!!

[Wihlborg]

I can't understand why you bought another coin that is the same date, mint mark and grade......makes no sense

 

 

John

[jrh-migration]

Is that a "nick" on the bison's shoulder. I had one body bagged for such a thing (although mine had two "nicks") and was labeled as "damaged".

 

I'm certainly not an expert with this series and the coin looks terrific to me, but I can't help but wonder if that is a visible defect (or even really there at all).

[Wihlborg]

Hi jrh,

 

The mark you see on the buffalo’s shoulder in the image is indeed on the coin, however it cannot be seen with the naked eye. When viewing the coin with a 7X loupe it appears as a tiny ‘tick’. A mark like this would not preclude a coin from receiving a grade as high as MS-67.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I would have to believe that if your coin was body bagged as damaged for two ‘nicks’ on the buffalo’s shoulder they must have been quite large, more like gashes than ‘nicks’.

 

Not to get into semantics, but rather to give you an idea of how I label marks on a coin I offer the following.

 

Tick – a tiny mark, ranging from invisible to the naked eye to barely visible to the naked eye.

 

Nick – a small mark easily visible to the naked eye.

 

Gash – A large deep mark that distracts noticeably from the eye appeal of the coin.

 

John

[jrh-migration]

As I said, your coin looks terrific. The only problem is that I thought mine looked terrific, too. That's why I was shocked when it came back body bagged and labeled "damaged". The two marks on it were small enough that I had not noticed them when I sent the coin for grading and I had to look hard when I got it back to see where the "damage" might have been. According to your classification they were somewhere between a "tick" and a "nick" (nowhere near a "gash").

 

I wish I had a photo of the coin, but I sold the coin raw at a discount (carefully noting the nicks to the buyer) about six months ago. It's made me very leary of buying buffaloes raw that have any sort of mark (tick, nick, or otherwise).

[jom]

...but I would have to believe that if your coin was body bagged as damaged for two ‘nicks’ on the buffalo’s shoulder they must have been quite large, more like gashes than ‘nicks’.

 

It is also possible PCGS hired Stevie Wonder again to grade coins for them. I just do NOT understand why they keep doing that.

 

jom

[Wihlborg]

Jrh,

 

If the marks were as small as you say they were, and I believe you when you say they were, then I highly doubt that they were the reason the coin got body bagged. A few small nicks may knock the grade down some, but the coin would be graded. I can’t begin to tell you the number of buffs that I’ve seen in all three of the leading grading company’s holders that have a few nicks on them.

 

There can only be one of two reasons your coin was body bagged. Either it was a mistake by the grading company (which to be honest I doubt) or the coin had some other damage that you did not notice.

 

What did the coin look like? Was there anything that seemed odd about it? What was the date/mint, and what grade did you think it was? It’s too bad you don’t have images of it to post on the board, maybe we could have noticed what the damage was.

 

John

[reid1836]

A magnificent specimen ! That golden tone just seems to flow over the surface. I also recently added a new buff to my collection. I`ll attach a photo, opinions are welcome. I wish I could figure out how to post multiple images . But I guess I`ll just have to settle for the single photo attachment.

[reid1836]

Photo #2 attached.

[HaydenTubbs]

nice

[Wihlborg]

 

Congratulations reid1836!

 

That’s a very nice example of one of the classic rarities of all time. Great photos also.

 

John

[jrh-migration]

A few small nicks may knock the grade down some, but the coin would be graded. I can’t begin to tell you the number of buffs that I’ve seen in all three of the leading grading company’s holders that have a few nicks on them.

 

There can only be one of two reasons your coin was body bagged. Either it was a mistake by the grading company (which to be honest I doubt) or the coin had some other damage that you did not notice.

 

What did the coin look like? Was there anything that seemed odd about it? What was the date/mint, and what grade did you think it was? It’s too bad you don’t have images of it to post on the board, maybe we could have noticed what the damage was.

 

I suppose there could have been some other damage, but I think I've looked at enough of these that I would have noticed. I studied both sides intently (under high magnification 10X) and the two "nicks" were all I could find. Everything else looked perfectly normal. A good strike, good luster, not cleaned,etc. I, too, thought after seeing the "nicks" that NGC might have perhaps lowered the grade (which I thought was in the MS65-66 range) a point or two, but I never imaged they would call it "damaged".

 

I don't remember the date exactly (in the 30's - common date - nothing special except hopefully a high grade type coin). Oh well, without a photo I guess I'll never know for sure. I suppose I should have photographed it and put the image on the boards, but I just accepted the "nicks" as the reason it was body bagged (since everything else looked so perfect). Thanks for your thoughts.

[thebeav]

John,

Beautiful Type I coin.....I still have my heart set on that 1919 though !!

 

Paul

[TomB]

Way to go, John! That is one nice coin!

 

It seems to me that you have been finding more than your fair share of superb coins lately. Do you need any more money? Feel like you are forced to sell something to raise some cash? Call me.

[Oldtrader3]

Nice '13-D nickel, John. I really like it!