'restored' Buffalo Nickel Price Guide?

I just can't see a restored dated coin in my Albums. IF for some reason it was done perfectly, maybe. However, in almost every one I've seen, they look sick. I'd rather have an empty slot in the Album.
Sort of like spending many thousands on a car and then have old, worn tires on it or seats all worn out.

weerdsteev,

Last month I posted a dateless 3 1/2 leg "D" buffalo and you suggested it looked like the 1917 I think.

To me it's interesting but not worth anything more than $0.05.

This makes me wonder: Is a dateless missing leg buffalo worth more than one given a vinegar bath?

First off, do not EVER expect to find a 1937-D 3 legger without a date. It just flat-out doesn't happen. If you've got a dateless D-mint Buffalo that seems to be missing part or all of it's right foreleg, then you've probably got a 36-D or a 17-D - or maybe just a nickel that is extremely worn all over.

Second, I don't think anyone would pay much for a POTENTIAL 36-D or 17-D, even if the date could be determined based on diagnostics. (I'd like to say that a dateless 36-D is something that can't happen, but the fact is that I have found 2 of those in my time...so that's why I bother to mention it.) People WILL pay a little bit for a nicely restored 17-D 3.5 legger, however, as THIS link shows:
[http://www.ebay.com/itm/15117874521....m1561.l2649]17D 3.5 leg[/url]


***edited to add "D-mint***

If you're just going to keep it, I'd leave it alone. Sometimes a little mystery in one's life, and in one's collection, can be a good thing.

Although I sell lots of restored Buffalo nickels, you won't find a single one in my own personal collection. But that's because I'm 60 years old now, and over time and by the grace of God I've been fortunate enough to be able to buy nice, original date examples. Not everyone has those two circumstances on their side though, and those who don't may not want to wait for years to go by or good fortune to come along to fill those holes in their set. That's where restored nickels can serve a purpose and provide a reasonable alternative.

When you can finally replace that restored key date with an original date, then you simply sell the restored example - probably at a profit.

Try doing an advanced search on ebay and check recent sales.

Well, I tried again (and failed) to get both the 1913-D T2 and 1913-S T2 this past weekend. The "D" sold for around $25 and the "S" around $55. I lost the bidding barely on one and wasn't close on the other. It looks like those holes in my folder will stay empty a little longer. :(

Today I mentioned what happened to my wife and I showed her (for the first time) my want list with prices shown. She looked at it for a minute, then said "If you ever pay that much for a coin I'll kill you!". That is why I'm still trying to get my last two Buffalo nickels the cheap way.

As most of us married men will tell you:

The moral of the story is only tell your wife how much the coins you have are worth, never the price of the ones you want to buy...