Collecting Coins On The Cheap: The Buffalo Nickel Challenge

While looking for a better example of a 1921, I found this... It has the hair detail which I think is only on the 1921 and it has a mintmark, which means it must be a 1921-S, right? Am I getting unreasonably lucky or am I just full of wishful thinking?

You're right, of course. I have a bunch of '20 partials in various states of wear, I'm surprised I didn't recognize it as such, but the middle of the 0 wasn't as round as in the other's I've seen. I was surprised how much it looked like the partial '14-P I have.

But '21-S! That and the '13-D T2 from yesterday make this a good batch already, and I've only just started going through it.

Probably in its current condition it's not worth sending in the 21-S, but I'm very confident it is the real deal.

Also, they did not make a 21D for nickels.

Coin at the top that is a dateless S is definitely a 1921. The coin on previous page is definitely a 20-D. 20 and 21 coins have very wavy hair ribbons and the 21 is distinguished from the 20 by extra hair groove details above the wrap.

Alright, I need to break down clean some of these coins. Yes, I know and respect rule #1 (don't) and rule #2 (see #1) of cleaning coins. But this is one of those exceptions (at a minimum, I need a clean surface before I acid treat any of them).

I don't want to remove any corrosion, verdigris or dark toning. I am quite happy for these coins to remain ugly. I just want to remove the foreign matter, which is basically just the usual caked-on, greasy, sticky, black crud that old coins accumulate. And I want to be gentle, even though these are junk coins, because I have found a few valuable partial dates.

Which of the following is my best bet?

1) Just warm water (I doubt this will do the job)
2) Dish soap and water and some gentle rubbing (they're already really worn coins, so any minor hairlines I add by rubbing won't make a difference, but is soap too harsh?)
3) A soak in acetone (OK for cupronickel?)
4) A soak in xylene (I don't know anything about this)
5) A commercial coin cleaning product (which one?)
6) Something else...

I'd like a method that I can use on a bunch of coins at once, because I've got several bunches. Any tips would be appreciated.

3a) boil them in acetone.

I've been busily sorting out partial dates, figuring out semi-obscured mint-marks, and giving acetone baths to the grimier coins. Mostly I've only been using the Nic-a-Date on the most supremely ugly (mangled, black, rusty, hewn...) and those that had been acid-dated by somebody else before they got to me. Basically just playing with the ones I couldn't possibly ruin.

Today I finally took a break and let myself Nic-a-Date just one from the coveted pile of clean, mint-marked, dateless nickels. Lo-and-behold, it was one of the fastest and clearest, and the best find so far:





I seem to have hit all the hardest key dates now, 1913-D Type 2, 1913-S Type 2, 1914-D and 1921-S. I still have hundreds of coins to go through. I think '24-S and '26-S are going to be the hardest, because a lot fewer are going to be dateless.

I took some time to put some in the book so I can track my progress:

Holes remaining:
The book is more than half full, so it's shorter than a list of those collected.
1914-S
1915-S
1916-S
1918-D 8/7 (doesn't count)
1923-S
1924-D
1924-S
1925-D
1926-S
1927-S
1929-S
1930-S
1931-S
1934
1935-D
1935-S
1936-D
1937
1937-D
1937-D 3 legged (doesn't count)
1937-S
1938-D
68.8% complete

Sourced coins:
Coin roll hunting (7 coins @ $0.35; 5¢ ea.)
Type 1 included with Nic-A-Date (1 coin @ FREE)
Lot 1 (107 no and partial date; from ebay @ $18.95 incl. shipping; 17.7¢ ea.)
Lot 2 (500+ no and partial date ugly; from ebay @ $57.75 incl. shipping; 11.6¢ ea.)

Surplus:
Need to do more sorting. Lots. Some better dates.

Supplies (not counted toward total):
Dansco 7112 Album ($21.95)
946 ML White Vinegar, 5% acidity ($1.19)
Nic-A-Date ($7.49 incl. shipping)
Stack-On 39 Drawer Storage Cabinet (for sorting these and other coins, $19.96)

Total invested: $77.05 ($55.10 over budget)

I'll need to be able to unload my surplus at about 11¢ each to stay under the challenge budget.

24-s can be found in dateless lots occasionally. All 24 dated coins can be distinguished from the rest of the 20s also. Take a close look at 24P at the waviness of the ribbon. It's wavy like 20 & 21 but not as wavy. The other 20s have much straighter ribbon. Once you pick this up go to your dateless S pile and you could find one in there. Good luck!

I agree 26-s and 31-s will be biggest challenge.