Should I have this coin graded?

[Arizona_928]

Stumbled upon a very minty Buffalo nickel and not sure how to proceed. I only hoard Au, Ag, Pd and Pt coinage, so melt value is very low on this.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

It looks circulated so if you want to go to Shake Shack and have dinner for a nickel, have at it.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, it is not worth a lot. Not worth having it graded. Most coins are worth face value, unless it is gold or silver. Then most are worth melt value. Only rare coins are worth more than face value.

As a kid, I collected coins. I have an entire collection, but the value of most of it now is face value. The internet came along, and it showed that millions of people saved buffalo nickles, and silver coins. Steel pennies, and the price crashed. Unless it was truly uncorrelated, (yours is not) or proof, it ain't worth much.

[flatbutt]

Nah it's pretty beat up.

[KFC911]

I'd estimate it's value at 5 cents+ ... easy

[aschen]

1936 Philadelphia right, not a better date? Places routinely give out AU buffalo nickels to kids at coin shows for free.


I have a few things I would like graded, but man they make it a pita. I have a 1736 6400 reis gold coin my grandfather found on a beach in antigua when my mother was a child. Its pretty low grade but I wonder if they would mark it ship wrecked.

I also have an 10$ indian I think would come back MS 64 or better but doesnt really matter on most pre 33 gold. It hardly carries a premium over regular buillion these days even graded.

Last coin show I was at they were selling common date 20$ gold libertys and St gaudens for gold melt value, in MS65 state. A crazy good deal I think but gold is expensive and they were still $3300. Was selling the ungraded ones at slightly below melt. You can buy all the 90% silver you want below melt at coin shows these days.

[gregpark]

That's a Philadelphia buffalo. They made 120M.
It's worth a buck at best and you'd be lucky if a coin shop gave you 50 cents

[GH85Carrera]

Back as a kid I begged for gold coins as my Christmas gifts. Gold was $35 per ounce then. Now it is $3,300+ per oz.

I did scrape enough cash together to buy one $5.00 gold piece back then.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by gregpark

That's a Philadelphia buffalo. They made 120M.
It's worth a buck at best and you'd be lucky if a coin shop gave you 50 cents

Sounds like a coin best used for tips at the ice cream parlor.

[gregpark]

It's a cool nickel in nice condition. Silicone it to the fridge

[Rick Lee]

When I was about eight or nine I had a US savings bond that matured for $179, IIRC. My mom said I had to spend it on something that would appreciate. I was into coin collecting then, so we went to a fancy shop in Dallas and I bought several Franklin halves in BU condition. I don't think they use that condition anymore. They've been in a book ever since. The owner of that coin shop has passed away, but his son now runs a shop by the same name in Philadelphia, where I travel often. I may even still have the original receipts from 1980. I will eventually bring the book in to try to sell, as I just don't care about them anymore.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

If they weren't lost in any of our many moves, my Mom should have 3 1776-1976 new, never circulated silver dollars, one of each of us. Not incredibly valuable but a neat heirloom.

[gregpark]

Those Franklin halves are 90% silver and worth about 13 bucks now. Hang on to them, the value could triple soon

[The Synergizer]

It's racist now...

[Steve Carlton]

[LWJ]

Fun story. My Great Grandfather worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He got word to find a Native that had "the look." My foggy recollection is that he picked Chief Wades in the Water as the subject. (I may be incorrect in this. Wades in the Water was a friend of GG, but may not have been the subject) An artist came out and painted the subject. There was a second Native who also had his face painted. The two paintings were merged into one composite. That likeness is what you see on the Nickel.

Also foggy is who the artist was. It could have been C. M. Russel. Who did come hang out with my Great Grandparents and did paint my Grandmother as a child. (painting is lost. Darn it!). But the possibility of Russel making this painting is better than zero.


UPDATE: a little google research shows that family lore and internet lore don't always match. No idea what is correct. Here is a link:https://uscoinsandjewelry.com/blog-article/the-face-behind-the-five-cent-indian-head-nickel

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by KFC911

I'd estimate it's value at 5 cents+ ... easy

Or if you want to travel to New Zealand to spend it... 8 cents.

[Arizona_928]

Will that even get me a Vegemite sammie?!

[The Synergizer]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Or if you want to travel to New Zealand to spend it... 8 cents.

New Zealand doesn't exist.

[herr_oberst]

There was a regular vendor at the local craft market here in town (Saturday Morning Market, under the Burnside Bridge) who made some pretty handsome suede moccasins, in a tall boot style; you could buy them with either buffalo nickels or mercury dimes up the leg as an embellishment - about 10 coins per boot, as I recall.
Im pretty sure he drilled the coins out like a button and stitched them to the leather.
As a non collector, I always wondered just how valuable those coins were.