Contact Marks on Buffalo Nickels from Mint Rolls

[toddhoss-migration]

Hi! I received some rolls of the new buffalo/Jefferson nickels from the mint and broke one P and one D roll open to see what they're like. I noticed many of the nickels had contact marks on the obverse. Using the naked eye, I went through both rolls and found only 11 nickels from the D roll and 8 nickels from the P roll that were without noticeable contact marks on the obverse. The reverses did not appear to have these marks.

 

What have others found in this regard? Will the new obverse design (a larger open field, to the right of the portrait) make it more difficult to find specimens without contact marks on them? Or are others finding different results from their rolls?

 

If the new obverse design is more prone to contact marks, I would expect mint sets, especially the proof sets, to be even more valuable....

[toddhoss-migration]

Didn't want to call them "bag marks", since the coins are not in bags.... I would guess the marks are from the way in which the coins are routed in bulk, through the machines at the mint, after they've been struck....

[Hoot]

Hi todd - welcome to the forums!

 

Here are two threads on the new buffJeffs bought in bags that report similar findings:

 

thread 1

thread 2

 

Since the coins are handled the same up to the point of bagging them or rolling them, then they will equally suffer in quality. It's possible that the bagged coins will receive a few more hits, but the vast majority of the jostling appears to occur at the Mint. In the recent past, Mint sets have the cleanest pieces.

 

Mint rolled coins, for the most part, are a novelty due to their wrapper. People collect those rolls as did past roll collectors who would attempt to get every date and mint mark combination in rolls, and even with as much of a variety of wrappers as possible. For the premium, it's not worth opening Mint wrapped rolls.

 

Hoot

[jom]

Since the coins are handled the same up to the point of bagging them or rolling them, then they will equally suffer in quality

 

What?! The US Mint is putting out less-than-gem quality material? This is an outgrage! How long has this atrocity been going on?

 

...oh...wait...it's been about 130 years or so. Never mind...

 

jom

[GoYankees]

I've learned the hard way to go with bags rather than rolls if you want to cherry pick.

 

JMHO

 

BTW

Welcome

[toddhoss-migration]

Hoot and others... Thanks for the helpful information/advice!

[toddhoss-migration]

I would think the difficulty in finding higher grade Buffalo nickels in bags and rolls will help contribute to an increase in values for the 2005 proof sets....

[cpm9ball]

I would think the difficulty in finding higher grade Buffalo nickels in bags and rolls will help contribute to an increase in values for the 2005 proof sets....

 

It will probably have a greater influence on Mint Sets. Everyone will be looking to cut them open for higher-grade specimens.

 

Chris

[toddhoss-migration]

Chris:

 

Thanks!