Buffalo Nickels - Need Help!

That's very nice of you, Paleoguy.

As to the OP's most recent question of if there is a safe way to determine the date on a buffalo. Not really. There are a few dates that can be identified without a date. There is no way of "bringing out the date" on a buffalo, or any coin for that matter, without resorting to methods I described earlier in this thread. The mintmark should always be protected enough to not have been worn off unless the coin is ridiculously worn and undesirable anyway.