1937-D 3 Legged Buffalo Nickel Grading Help - Estate Sale Find

Considering it is worth at least $1000 in AU I think you did very well. If the person who sold it to you for $50 ever finds out how cheaply he sold it for he/she is going to cry. I have a 3 legged 1937 in VF condition and I spent a great deal more than $50 bucks for it. Do you think you will try and complete a set of Buffalo nickels now? If you could get the rest in AU condition you would have quite a set. Most of them I see are barely in good condition and being able to clearly read the date and see the full horn I feel elated.

It does look better than AU Details to me. Where are the "details"? The back of the coin looks even better than the front. It has a nice patina so I don't think it has been cleaned IMO. The horn on your coin is so distinct I don't think I have ever seen one that good and I have a common Buffalo in MS 60 and it does not look that good.

I suspected it had been cleaned and commented that fact when you first posted back in June.

You can now play the crack out, let it tone and resubmit game. That's what the TPG companies want you to do!

With what you paid you should still be very happy. Leave it alone and enjoy it (or sell it). It is what it is!

After seeing the coin in the slab I concur 100% with PCGS that the coin has been cleaned.

I got this stuff called "E Zest" from my coin dealer and it does a tremendous job on silver coins and is not considered "cleaning". It is a dip and will get off certain kinds of bad toning and spots. I used it on a couple of my Morgans. It does not say that it works on nickels. I don't think you can "un-clean" a coin. Somebody somewhere down the line must have understood that the coin had value or they would not have cleaned it. That must have been lost in time if you got it for $50. If you dip your coin and even use a soft toothbrush it is considered to have been cleaned according to my LCS dealer. Even the toothbrush may leave tiny marks on the coin indicating it has been cleaned. Every time I go to my LCS I learn something besides buying coins. That kind of knowledge will go when he retires and shuts up the store. That will be a sad day.

When looking at Buffalo nickels if it is a rare one in MS condition I would buy it slabbed and graded. Otherwise, I pay special attention to the Buffalo's horn. Yours is very distinct. Most you find "raw" will probably be much more worn in anything less that EF condition. I leave it up to experts on cleaning here to answer that question. I can recognized cleaned and polished coins like on Morgans under magnification. If you buy on ebay you can expect many of the raw coins to have been cleaned and even polished. Your got a very special and rare good deal on your three legged Buffalo. That does not happen every day.

To me the coin looks to have been lightly polished. Enough that as soon as you see it you know it's been messed with. It's too bad but it's still worth good money. It is what it is.

Yeah, a quick dip if you know what you are doing is generally acceptable. Half the Morgans in problem free holders have probably been conserved/dipped.