The 1914/3 Buffalo Nickel Overdate Story

[Buffalo_Pete]

The story of the newly discovered (in 1996) 1914/3 Buffalo Nickel overdate to some might be viewed as a “Fairy

Tale”. The Fairy Tale moniker might be apt, in the sense that a percentage of seasoned collectors look at the

discovery and subsequent value of specimens with a certain amount of dis-belief.

 

If you view this overdate in comparison to the 1918/7-D, it is understandable that a perception like that would be

justified.

 

There is no question that the 1914 and 1918 overdates are what they are: Overdates. The two dates, however,

should not be considered identical in all respects. They are second-cousins, produced at different stages of the

die making process. Actually, in respect to blunders, the 1914/3 wins hands-down between the two!

 

Philly Phollies in 1913

 

From October till the end of the year, every year, the Mint was very busy producing dies for the remainder of the

current year, as well as the upcoming New Year.

 

Both were done, side by side, at the same time. That in itself is a recipe for mistakes.

 

The essential difference between the 1914/3 and the 1918/7 was that the Overdates were produced at different

stages in the die making process. The 1914/3 was by far the bigger mistake. A Working Hub was overdated.

Working Hubs are used to produce Working Dies. A lot of them! Working Dies were wrongly impressed with

the overdated Hub. The 1918/7 is unique in that only one Working Die was overdated. The 1914/3 happened

one step earlier in the die making process, the result being that multiple-overdated dies had been produced.

 

PULL THE DIE!....now what?

 

The horrendous mistake was eventually discovered after an undetermined amount of Working Dies had been

produced. It is estimated that 4 to 5, maybe 6, were created. The overdated Hub was pulled and destroyed, but

the damage had already been done. The die making process involves numerous steps, and is very labor intensive.

It cost The Mint real money in terms of wages, material, fuel for the annealing furnaces, and lost time to make

good a mistake.

 

The solution to this blunder was carried out in the following manner:

 

The overdated Working Dies were re-processed by grinding down and polishing away as much of the overdate as

was possible. Each die was identified, and re-worked to remove traces of the underlying “3” in the last numeral

of the date. That would re-coup the labor involved in their creation.

 

The Mint did this with varying amounts of success. Every Working Die that was discovered to have been

overdated subsequently received abrasion treatment to remove as much as possible of the underlying “3”. The

abraded and re-polished dies were then sent onward to the production stage (the actual coining of Nickels).

 

A natural chain of events ensued. Some of the re-conditioned dies were shipped by Express Messenger Service

to the Branch Mints in Denver and San Francisco for the coining of 1914 dated Buffalo Nickels, and some

remained in Philadelphia for coining there.

 

Their creation, circulation, and anonymity lasted until 1996........an astounding 82 years later!

 

The Medina Specimen is Discovered

 

Unlike this Overdates cousin, the 1918/7-D, which features a very prominent and untouched date, none will

show that bold feature. However, some very early die-state and high-grade specimens do exhibit an Overdate

that can be seen with the naked eye.

 

They all were coined and released into general circulation Nationwide with the above mentioned abrading. Given

the Buffalo Nickels’ often weak strike, coupled with the all too common clash marks and strike doubling, all

were dismissed as being afflicted with any number of the above maladies.

 

In 1996, Bill Fivaz (of Cherrypickers fame) sponsored a contest through CONECA in which a $100.00 prize

would be rewarded for finding a new and unknown overdated coin. R.A. Medina, from San Antonio, Texas

submitted the 1914-P Buffalo Nickel as his entry into the Contest.

 

It was graded Very Fine, struck from worn dies, and immediately caught the fancy of the Contest Sponsors. It

quickly made the rounds from one expert to the next, and was determined to be a new Overdate.

 

But......hesitant to officially confirm the coin, it was agreed to wait for someone to submit a higher-grade

specimen for analysis.

 

Several months later, another San Antoinian, Roger Alexander, submitted a higher-grade 1914-P coin struck

from an earlier die-state

 

After examining Alexander’s coin, the new Overdate was confirmed.

 

The 1914/3-P Buffalo Nickel began appearing in price guides, and was recognized by the major grading services

who would slab qualified specimens in a holder with the 1914/3 designation on it.

 

Now the Fun Begins

 

It was either still unknown, or was not thought to be the case to everyone involved in the Hobby from the outset

that the 1914/3 might have been manufactured from more than one die.

 

A specific and very rigid set of variables had to exist for any specimen to qualify for slabbing at that very early

stage.

 

I personally had one rejected by PCGS that I had sent with a local coin dealer in my area to The Long Beach

show in California. It was an EF specimen that I “cherried” shortly after hearing of the discovery.

 

PCGS told the dealer that while it looked like it possessed the diagnostic “notch” at the top and to the right of

the “4” in the date, it did not have all the diagnostics needed to holder the coin.

 

I began to understand why some individuals called this Overdate a “fairy tale”. I was so disillusioned and

disgusted with the pronouncement that I took the coin home and threw it into a box of spares and “junk” that I

had accumulated over the years.

 

That was then. This is now.

 

Today it probably would be holdered.........but for the life of me, I can no longer find the coin. I have absolutely

no idea what happened to it!

 

A 1914/3-S is Discovered

 

In 1997, Thomas K. Delorey sent a San Francisco minted coin “around the horn” that displayed diagnostics

hinting of the Overdate. The notch at the top of the “4” was there, but was considerably diminished compared to

the P Mint specimen.

 

It now became apparent that more than one die existed, meaning that a Working Hub was the culprit. There was

more than one Overdated die floating around.

 

The Final Piece of the Puzzle

1914/3-D

 

The challenge started by Bill Fivaz was actually ended by him late in 2000.

 

With the knowledge that multiple dies existed for this Overdate, and no specimen discovered from the Denver

Mint so far, Bill found an EF specimen that looked right. The Denver coin was less obvious and displayed fewer

details of an Overdate, but it, and a second specimen grading VF were declared as the Denver Overdate after

“making the rounds” to die specialists.

 

The Denver coins, both struck from the same Obverse die, sport a long die crack from the left rim through the

Indians head. It can easily be seen with a small amount of magnification.

 

This single Obverse die was paired with two different reverses during its production life. The “D” mintmark on

one specimen is very close to the “C” of Cents. It stands straight, with no tilt to it.

 

The second specimen displays a “D” which is tilted slightly to the left and is so close the “C” in “CENTS” that it

looks imbedded.

 

Summary

 

Six or more dies. Specimens from all three Mints. 82 years in hiding.

 

What’s not to like?

 

1) The Mint caught this one. To save production costs, each offending die was re-worked to remove traces of

the “3”. Higher grade specimens seldom seen by the general public, however, are reported to display a much

better Overdate than we regular folks can see. These “high-end” specimens make the rounds being sold and

traded between Dealers. “Bang for the Buck” being the operative words here, A good percentage of collectors

feel that the amount of Overdate present does not justify the cost of obtaining a specimen.

 

2) Should it be included in Albums? Yes, it should. It is what it is. It should only be included as an optional

slot though, for those of us who do not want to ante up the cost to display it.

 

3) This specimen hid so well for 82 years....and given the extra fragility of all the dates on the very early Buffalo

Nickels......is mostly lost to the ravages of wear and have been sent to “Dateless Heaven”........the mythical place

I envision as existing somewhere in Montana where the Buffs did roam at one time........their numbers so large

herds often covered an entire State!

 

Price and Pops

 

NGC Census Report

 

1914/3-P (FS-014-87)

 

129 graded specimens with the curve starting high at AG-VF, then dipping and again rising at 55-65 Three

specimens are at 65. 47 are in Mint State.

 

1914/3-D (FS-014.88)

 

2 graded specimens, both circulated, with grades of VF and XF-45. No Mint State specimens.

 

1914/3-S (FS-014.89)

 

34 graded specimens with 20 in Mint State. 4 are at 64.

 

I have no access to any other POP reports, perhaps a Forum Member would like to submit additional onfo in a

reply to this Story.

 

Pricing

 

Coin Universe (PCGS)

 

1914/3-P only

 

 

G-390, VG-650, EF-1350, AU-2400, MS-60, 3600, MS-63, 7000, MS-64-13000, MS-65-36000, MS-66-75000

 

Comments or corrections to this little Story are welcome.

 

Knowlege is power.

 

Pete

[RoelSports]

Thanks for a very informative piece...scr

[1BigMo-migration]

My word,you just never know.

 

Thanks Pete

[Tradedollarnut]

I wonder if the mint some sort of 'filler' that they use to attempt to eradicate these underdates and other mistakes. You simply cannot 'abrade' away an incuse digit.

 

I agree with you that most of these simply aren't worth purchasing [thus my 'fairy tale' comment]. They can hardly be seen at all and require quite the imagination. In fact, the 1942/1 dimes have other dies with the 1 partially eradicated and they trade for no premium at all.

[michael]

 

 

great thread