Buffalo DD's

I am not commenting on the above nickel. Just a generalized statement about varieties. With nickels and other softer coins, sometimes the outside edge gets beaten up and can show as a worn DD but in reality it is a wear pattern/damage.

Rolling machines or pattern blunt trauma can make the legends appear thicker and wider then they are supposed to be. This is so common that the distinction in worn examples gets so fuzzy any positive ID is only based on experienced speculation. They will crucify me for saying it but there is a line for ID that DOES get lost. After a certain point the coins actual attribution can become impossible. Most common on the minor varieties. No one likes to admit it but some of the varieties are just not possible for solid ID once beyond a given wear point.

Many find that the confusion is from working backwards at ID's. Begin with known coins in high grades and progress your way into circulated specimens. Beginning with the circulated ones can blur the markers. It leaves more to experience that only repeated exposure and familiarity to properly ID with any degree of certainty. But like mentioned above, there are still situations where it is just too grey of an area. Too much speculation and too much imagination makes the ID murky.

Larger spreads, and more powerful magnification to scrutinize markers is the easiest way. After going in at 200x on a series of coins you become extremely familiar with them. Some of the lesser known varieties can be tedious for even the experienced eyes but you will get a feel for them with time.

Machine vs Polishing vs Hub, over-date vs cud/gouge. These are all too often seen with rose colored glasses in regards for proper attribution. Experience pouring through coins and exposure to solid control examples to start with can be great at accelerating the learning curve.

JMO-

-RFB

Nickel is the hardest coinage metal used by the US(not counting platinum), there is nothing soft about it. It is so hard that it wears the dies more quickly than other coinage metals, hence the ubiquitous Die Deterioration Doubling.

I have no reason to doubt your word on the subject yet personal experience differs greatly from your implied relevance to the planchet harness.

Only way to convince MYSELF is to conduct a few experiments and report. Give me a few days and I will re-visit with some historical data.