1925 S Buffalo Nickel For Grade Opions You Vs TPG

There are a lot of weakly struck Denver and San Francisco Buffs. There are also a lot of late die state Buffs from all three mints. Neither should alter the technical grade more than a grading point. The question is whether both occurring at the same time should drop grade a coin more than two points. I just don't see that happening.

I still see this coin snagging a F-15 technical grade. There is no way it would go for VG or F money, though. Eye appeal matters, and this critter would have strong market rejection.

I'm a sucker for well-struck Buffs, regardless of the technical grade. The hardest full strike for me to find was a 1924-D, and that took 31 years to locate. The one fully struck Buff that made my wallet bleed even way back in the day was the 1926-S, though.

T bop -whatever man.

nice! were you able to get the eye appeal discount?

I wasn't thinking ICG in the discussion. They are definitely a TPG that proves the adage "buy the coin and not the grade."

This coin shows why sight-unseen certified coin buying is too risky for the hard-to-grade series. We all can picture an F-15 Morgan or Barber series or Indian or Lincoln, and be fairly close on a sight unseen coin. The same is not true for pre-WWII nickel coinage, because the hard metal makes die state and strike quality vital to determine eye appeal and because the mints used dies far too long.