1923-S Buffalo Nickel

G6 would be my grade for it

I say G-6.

Usual crappy strike. 2/3 horn, F-15 straight grade.

I wouldn't argue with F-12, but don't see 2/3 horn.

i miss fortcollins assessments of these. I learned a huge amount from his comments. there is so much that went on with some of these years with die matching and polishing its a real challenge separating wear from this.

I'm with coinfrog F12. one the key areas I hone in on is to compare the top of the feathers looking for the sharpness and definition where the feathers cross compared to the photograde. on a VG coin this is way more flat than what we see here so that put me in the F range. reverse looks like a later die state. the separation of the back fur from the body is more defined than a VG and theres a little more horn than a VG also

For reference, above is a PCGS example in MS. The reverse of yours is even later die state than the above. Notice the relatively solid strike, but lack of detail in the ends of the feathers, and flatness to the buffalos head (due to late die state). Horn is barely "full". Wouldn't take much wear for this one to start to look more circulated than it is. A low AU example, in this die state, would probably exhibit details of a high VF example in an earlier die state. Also, due to Die Deterioration, the portion of the lettering closest to the rim loses definition. There is less relief from the devices to the field, and metal flow lines are more prominent. Again, as this coin wears, those devices on the outer edge will more quickly blend into the field and rim. Giving the effect of more wear.

Rambling over.

thanks for the additional insight for this one Ty2020b. add that to the knowledge base. I was going to push this one to F15 but the overall look of the coin I knocked it a tad.

new members take note. these are not a straight forward series using photograde to grade them.