1914-D Buffalo...........

Thanks to weersteve for chiming in. I only soak the mint mark having nickles too. I ended up with two more 1915-S mints after another 48 hrs of soaking.

For this lot of 100 buffs, I paid an average of $.23 per coin, and 59 of them had mint marks which was really high compared to most lots I've bought. I also ended up with a few type 1's.

I've never tried nic-a-date, but will test it on some non-mint mark examples until I'm confident I can do it without jacking up the others.

afcop13 - There are LOTS of years and MM combinations in the Buffalo series that had two feather varieties. I am not aware of any that are prized or highly sought after or particularly valuable as compared to the normal 3 feather coin, but this is not really my area of expertise. At any rate, if it doesn't have a date and it doesn't have obverse doubling and the buffalo has all 4 legs you're safe restoring it whether it has 2 or 3 feathers. (My comment about 4 legs is not meant to indicate concern for ruining a 1937-D 3 legger. I don't think the date ever wore off of a 1937-D. My comment was actually directed to the 1917-D 3-and-a-half leg variety. Got a dateless "D" mint nickel with only 3-and-a-half legs? Probably a 1917!)

If it's an "S" mint it WON'T be an 18/7. Those only came in the flavor of "D".

Well I have soaked my 4 test nickels for over a week now and I definitely have a 1914 and a 1919. One still has no date at all and I think the other is going to be a 1917.

I got the nic-a-date in the mail yesterday and have been experimenting with it. I have tried putting it on the coins and I have tried soaking them in a small amount of it.

I don't know how long to soak them, but I gave them about 20 minutes and then washed them. I swear they look worse. Still can't really see the date on one. And one side of one coin is seriously brown now.

I threw them back in the vinegar again. So far I don't think I have been doing much positive with them. Should I have soaked them longer than 20 minutes in the nic-a-date?

dangit. I hope one of you bought my dateless buffs in an auction here not long ago. if so I'm eager to see what you got! I was kicking myself after I sold them becuase of all the restoring that could be done... o well. off to my dealers junk bin

That looks nice. You are getting there. Perhaps "practice makes
perfect?"

Nickelman - Not too shabby! Throw it in some jewelry cleaner for 24 hours and a lot of that dark, streaky discoloration should go away.

(Note: To those who are reading my comment and thinking, "Aughh! Cleaning it is BAD!!", I'd like to remind you that cleaning it is the LEAST of what has already been done to it! It had no date, ergo it was basically worthless. Now that Nickelman has discovered that it is a 1914 it has some potential value and collectability. If he gets rid of some of the discoloration, it will be even better)