What Date Silver Coins Are Worth The Most Money

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No-date Buffalo nickels (those without visible dates, also called dateless Buffalo nickels) may not exist worth very much money — only they're notwithstanding interesting coins to collectors and non-collectors alike!

It'due south of import to know that every dateless Buffalo nickelsdid possess a date at one fourth dimension — because the U.S. Mint did not brand whatever Buffalo nickels without dates.

And so, why are some Buffalo nickels dateless and others are not?…

The Reason For No-Date Buffalo Nickels

Buffalo nickels were made from 1913 to 1938.

The reason that some Buffalo nickels take no dates is simply because the dates have been worn off afterward many years in circulation.

The dates on these Buffalo nickels wore off mainly due to the location of the date on the money itself.

The date is located just on the bottom left on the Buffalo nickel — on the shoulder of the Indian. This means that the date sits high off the surface of the coin and is one of the first places that wear will take identify on the Buffalo nickel.

It tin can take many years — sometimes decades — of normal habiliment and tear to rub a date off a Buffalo nickel.

Approximately halfway through 1913, the pattern was reworked, and the mound of clay that the buffalo is continuing on was changed to have a recessed infinite beneath information technology to display the denomination of "FIVE CENTS." This new design eliminated the problem of the date wearing away prematurely.
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Still… millions of dateless Buffalo nickels exist!

For a coin which saw heavy employ during the Great Depression, you can bet that dateless Buffalo nickels would tell interesting stories if they could talk.

How Much Are Dateless Buffalo Nickels Worth?

Non knowing what year a coin was made makes information technology harder for that coin to tell its story — so to speak.

That'south why some people tend to throw abroad dateless Buffalo nickels as worthless.

But expect — those dateless Buffalo nickels are not worthless!

While still cheap, they take risen somewhat in value over the past decade. For example, dateless Buffalo nickels were obtainable for less than 20 cents years ago. In fact, they were often spent for face up value by those who merely wanted to get rid of them.

More recently, dateless Buffalo nickels take been going for equally much equally 50 cents — and more.

Money dealers may be willing to pay y'all x to twenty cents for a dateless Buffalo nickel.

The Popularity Of Buffalo Nickels With No Date

While not valuable, dateless Buffalo nickels are liked for many reasons.

First off, even a dateless Buffalo nickel is still highly valued by those who appreciate the romance backside the legendary American money.

Indian head nickels and Buffalo nickels hearken to an earlier, gilded fourth dimension in American history.

Dateless Buffalo nickels would often discover homes within the workshops and studios of artisans and jewelers.

In fact, many decades ago, those down on their luck would scrape new designs on the Buffalo nickel and pass off their artwork in commutation for meals, clothing, or a bed to lie on overnight. These creative Buffalo nickels are referred to as Hobo Nickels.

These days, dateless Buffalo nickels make wonderful gifts for young collectors. Handling an old Buffalo nickel — even one without a date — can spark the involvement in a child to a pursue a hobby that tin can final a lifetime.

How To Find The Appointment On A Dateless Buffalo Nickel

Using chemicals on dateless Buffalo nickels to reveal the date has its pros and cons.

Almost importantly, using acrid (or ferric chloride, sold every bit Nic-a-Date restorer) to reveal the appointment on a Buffalo nickel can be physically hazardous to a devil-may-care user. Information technology too ruins the value of the coin.

Although it will cause the date to reappear on a Buffalo Nickel which has lost its engagement, ferric chloride also leaves a blotchy, rough, acrid spot of damage on the coin that ruins any value the nickel might have had. Also, the date volition fade again over time, and each time you apply the chemical again, it brings back less and less of the date (leaving an increasingly ugly acid marker instead.) Never utilise chemicals on the surface of your nickels to restore partial dates because partial-date Buffalo Nickels are worth more than totally dateless nickels. Depending on which digits are showing, the nickel tin be worth anywhere from fifty cents (if the function showing is the first ii or 3 digits) to about 20% of market value if the last 2 or three digits are readable.
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Numismatically speaking, applying whatsoever cleaner, acid, or chemical to a coin effectively damages it in the eyes of virtually any numismatist — effectively lowering its value.

Applying acid to a dateless Buffalo nickel should exist done just for the entertainment of seeing what date used to be on the coin.

That said, on occasion, using acid on a dateless Buffalo nickel tin reveal a deficient — even rare — date!

In such a circumstance, using acid on a dateless Buffalo nickel tin actually be beneficial and possibly tin increase the value of a formerly dateless Buffalo nickel.

Still… in almost cases, using acid on a Buffalo nickel (or whatsoever money) poses a risk to your health and effectively ruins the money in the eyes of coin collectors.

Think of any money you utilise acid to every bit one that you are sacrificing — simply for curiosity's sake.

I'grand the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I'g a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a money journalist. I'thousand also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Social club (FUN Topics mag), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I've contributed hundreds of articles for various money publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I've authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your money questions in the comments beneath!

Source: https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/no_date_buffalo_nickel/

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