1936 Buffalo 5c Grade W/ Small REV Spots Of Verdigris & Buf Hair Check

Some PhotoGrade shots and even other TPG MS slabbed examples of the buffalo's hair are somewhat difficult for me to interpret in a few of the examples. From my perspective an MS 60/61 hair profile should have the same amount of elements in the texture of the curls as an MS 70: no wear whatsoever.

IMO insofar as this hair region, if there is any single area having even a microscopic appearance of wear, the obverse would never be able to bring it up to a MS even if it's a spectacular uncirculated example.

However, it seems that some of the MS examples have what appears to be a flattened look toward the center near the periphery of the horn. How does one distinguish between wear and a weak strike in this region? Knowing this aspect better will assist with my grading skills.

I'll guess high AU. A pure acetone soak and Verdi-Care could help with the verdigris.

wow fortcollins, I sure do miss his participation on this forum, learned so much from each of his responses. I pray he's still enjoying his retirement from the coin business.

glare makes this one tough to see the surfaces.avoid overhead light.
all your coins posted seem to have similar overall look. that kind of concerns me. did these all come from the same seller? just questioning...

looks like a high AU example. AU58. I do have concerns with the verdigris however based on the photos it looks superficial at this point. may acetone soak would help. wouldn't hurt




learned so much from FC on these. maybe he'll show up again in the future. I've been working on a book and typically I was on every day but this is taking a lot of my time. I'll pop in as much as I can.

the reason for my question is that when you get multiple coins from the same seller that all have a similar look to them there is a possibility that the coins have been altered in some manner. cleaned, dipped etc...

for a high AU or low MS coin the flat dull surfaces seen on your reverse photo and on some of your other coins give me pause that this may have occurred.

grading by photo is challenging in and of itself so we can only see what we see in the photo. could be lighting or a slight angle that alters what we see.

I soaked the reverse in VerdiCare and then used a wooden toothpick to try to remove the green crud. That didn't do anything. Then I followed it up with an acetone bath, which also did not accomplish anything as far as an improvement in visuals. This particular verdigris seems to have fused with the patina of the coin.

Does anyone know what the shelf life of VerdiCare is since I have had mine for over 10 years stored at 70° or below? it has recently worked effectively To reduce or remove other shades of verdigris, however, over the last year.

The verdigris on this coin Is a sharp blue-green color, which may be indicative of its intensity to resist removal?

what that tells me is that whatever it is is fused to the surfaces and not organic