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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,644 |
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Valued Member
United States
208 Posts |
A I begin my Buffalo nickel journey I know there are a ton of dateless varieties out there. Have any of you used Nic-A- Date to try to get the date to show? Does it work? Is it worth it? |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
24939 Posts |
Dateless Buffalo nickels should be released back into the wild. That's just my humble opinion. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6507 Posts |
Quote:
Does it work? Sometimes Quote:
Is it worth it?
That's up to you  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3342 Posts |
Here's a recovered date on an 1844 Seated dollar using silver test solution. I got a weak shadow of the final 4, but I know what it is. The metal in the date is a lower density than the surrounding coin and etches differently. It's a diagnostic but didn't improve the coin.  "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
04/27/2023 3:08 pm
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Valued Member
 United States
208 Posts |
Ha! Funny enough my first bag of nickels from the bank had a single Buffalo nickel with an ambiguous date. Seems like a probable 1918-D to me (there is a legible D on the reverse). My first Buffalo for the album!  This Buffalo has had an interesting life I'm sure. Well deserved retirement into an album.  Edited by Hordfest
04/27/2023 8:48 pm
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Moderator
United States
15392 Posts |
Following is the reply I gave today to new member Clwang on her post asking how to recover the date from a dateless Shield nickel. Quote:
Two ways - both of which are invasive procedures and destroy any (albeit small) remaining numismatic premium.
Nick-a-date is a commercial acidic product that you apply to the date area and it etches the base metal so that generally a faint remnant of the date becomes visible. It's only redeeming property is that it causes only local damage.
A home soak in vinegar solution for a few days will usually accomplish the same minor etching and allow the date to be determined - however it is not 'targeted' like Nic-a-date so it affects the entire coin.
Truthfully - many serious collectors consider either of these methods as irresponsible abuses of the natural coin in our possession. IMO it's better to just enjoy the natural history of the no-date coin and leave it alone. So there are my views - its fairly obvious that my belief is to leave the dateless coins alone but each of us needs to make our own (informed) choices. |
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Moderator
United States
15392 Posts |
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This Buffalo has had an interesting life I'm sure. Well deserved retirement into an album. Congratulations on your first Buffalo find. And I fully concur that this coin looks much better retired as-is than with an acid burned date area.  Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3848 Posts |
Date is better than cull no date. I have a bag of dateless nickels I was going to use for a 5 cent slot machine, decided to use Nic-a-Date to reveal the dates on the coins that have a visible mintmark. I was able to add a 1913 S Type 2 in my buffalo set.
Not worth the effort on coins without a mintmark.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Valued Member
United States
208 Posts |
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Not worth the effort on coins without a mintmark Interesting thought. Maybe it would be worth it on D and S nickels. Generally I tend to agree with the folks in this forum that damaging nickels is worse than just letting them be. But at the same time adding a key date or semi key date to the population at an affordable price since it's damaged doesn't seem evil to me. It brings relevance and glory to a nickel that would otherwise live a life of obscurity. Edited by Hordfest
04/28/2023 10:05 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3755 Posts |
If it is dateless its value isn't all that great. Using the Nic A Date to reveal the date doesn't change that and you then know the date. And if it IS a key, then it INCREASES its value even though its damaged.
Personally I say go for it. And I am absolutely a serious collector.
Edited by smokeriderdon
04/28/2023 11:22 am
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Moderator
United States
94786 Posts |
A barely readable date is far better than a no date, and I would not use any chems on my coins. If I could read the date, it went in my album - to get upgraded later on. (which is what I'm doing this year) Dateless Buffalo nickels are just for giving away |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4415 Posts |
A collector buddy of mine for over forty years recently wrote to ask my opinion about using nic-a-date to improve a dateless 1916/16 nickel he discovered. After spotting the doubled feather he took it to a major dealer who said he'd buy it if acid raised the date. Others had told him to leave it alone. I sided with the dealer because the resulting visual effect would be more appealing than the simple diagnostic. After some agonizing over what to do, my buddy did the deed. The dealer gave him $300 for it. Happy ending!  The 1916/16 is a rare find. IMHO, most collectors who assemble acid treated Buff sets do it more for the fun and the challenge. It's more a labor of love than a profitable venture.  Edited by ExoGuy
04/30/2023 9:30 pm
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,644 |
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Posted 04/27/2023 2:37 pm
