1917 Buffalo For Grading

I would go with a VF-20

yeah VF sounds about right.

It's got a full horn - I'd say your up in the VF35 area - problem is that surface looks a bit polished (at one time)...........or that's one heck of a circulation cameo.

This coin has an LDS obverse and reverse, average strike for the date, and a bit heavy die polishing for only moderate clashing. There are some alloy issues, particularly noticeable on the reverse, but no laminations. The small corrosion spot on the reverse rim above the "D" of UNITED is a bit of a concern, but I think it would straight grade.

PCGS would call this coin EF-40, even though the buffalo's head is starting to merge with the rim and the "F" of FIVE is very close to doing the same. This is where I part company with PCGS. IMHO, that weakness requires a VF grade. That said, the rest of the coin is very close to EF. This one is a prime example of why we need a VF-38 grade for this series. In terms of what is available for grades, EF-40 for PCGS and VF-35 for the rest of the world. It's a decent coin for the grade range.