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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,548 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
I've seen it mentioned in several places that there were design changes made to the Buffalo nickel in 1916, but I haven't been able to find specifics. Apparently the changes were pretty subtle so most people don't consider it a separate type. Descriptions usually just say something like "Liberty was made stronger and moved slightly" or "relief was reduced" or "some say the nose was changed". Can anybody give me more specifics on the changes or provide illustrations? Were the changes made partway through the year, or do they affect all 1916 nickels? I'm hoping the information could be useful for identifying dates on partial and no-date nickels. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4132 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
I'd love to know too. As far as I know the only ones (short of certain varieties) that can be identified dateless are the 1913 type 1 and the 1921.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
What's the identifying thing on the 1921?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
1921 is the only year where the 1's in the date have serifs. Oops sorry that wouldn't identify a dateless one.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
It would if I could only read the first digit, or if I can't tell if it's a 21 or a 31, though a 31 isn't likely to be quite that worn.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
You can id them from the tie on the braid. It's much more pronounced on the 21s and there's three little lines coming out of the top of it (hair detail) that shows up even on the dateless ones. Look at an AG3/G4 1921 compared to pretty much any other date except 1913 it it's pretty obvious.
Edited by RollHunter
06/27/2011 01:13 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
Oh, you're right. I found some '21 pictures; thank you for explaining it. I don't think I'll have any trouble spotting that.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Breen discusses a Type III Buffalo design in his "Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins." He states: "Barber again (after modifying Type I in 1913) modified the design in 1916. ... LIBERTY is henceforth much sharper, Indian's nose longer, and many other details have again been changed."
IMHO, the difference between the Types, II & III, is not what I'd call striking - pun intended. Apparently, the makers of albums like the Dansco 7070 feel likewise. Striking problems persisted for many years, creating varieties, like "two feathers" for various years. It took this longtime collector a good many yeas to find a 1916, lacking Frasier's "F" initial.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
Looking at some pics on the web, I think I can see the difference with LIBERTY, but even if you could tell on a dateless nickel I don't think it'll do anything more than narrow down the date range. Maybe you could say a coin was 13-16 or 17+ but that's about it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
It might narrow down some with just hints of the last digit. If I can say "oh, this is a 1914, there's no way it's a 1924" then I don't have to acid date it. I'll see if I can compare some pictures to see the difference better.
Edited by CaptainFwiffo
06/27/2011 10:17 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
687 Posts |
I've had luck relating the placement of the date with respect to the "F" in order to tell the decades apart. I just don't think LIBERTY will hold up well enough in the FR2/AG3 range to be able to tell the difference. Anyone else have any better markers?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
838 Posts |
EXCELLENT thread! I have found this very informative, and from multiple users here.
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Moderator
 United States
188770 Posts |
I agree. I have a few weak date nickels that could use this identification tactic.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The two feathers isn't a striking problem, it is the result of overpolishing of the die.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Quote:
The two feathers isn't a striking problem, it is the result of overpolishing of the die. To a point, I concur with what Condor said. However, nickel is a very hard metal. Thus, I view this as initially a "striking" issue. There are some years that the "two feather" varieties exist and other years not. IMHO, a combination of striking and polishing issues is the cause. Are we to believe that dies were not over-polished during those years that "two feather" varieties are non-existant? Personally, I doubt that. When t comes to nickels, Buffalo or not, mushy or soft strikes are commonplace. Getting back to the subject of Buffalo nickel types, apparently the difficulty of transmitting the die detail to the sruck coins was a precipitating factor in making these transitional types. |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,548 |
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Posted 06/26/2011 4:16 pm
