Photos used with permission and courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries

You know you have too much time on your hands when you find yourself creating an Excel spreadsheet just to calculate the total number of Buffalo nickels minted from 1913 to 1938. But you can always defend yourself by telling the world you have a good excuse.

In this day and age of so much emphasis placed on perfection, what serious collector would turn down an opportunity to own an MS or PF-70 specimen if his or her checkbook would allow it? So, if you’re a Buffalo nickel fan and haven’t been exposed to the harsh reality, you incorrectly assume that out of over 1,200,000,000 nickels (yes, that’s Billion) minted in those 25 years, mathematical probability alone would predict at least a few MS-69 or 70 specimens, wouldn’t you conclude?

But as population report after population report of the major grading services are scanned in desperation, the Buffalo fanatic is sadly resigned to the fact that in countless decades of searching, not one MS-70 has yet been recorded. Does this mean that no such specimen exists? Probably an accurate assumption. But, if one were ever found some time in the future in an obscure safe deposit box and later assigned to a major auction, can you begin to imagine how spirited the bidding would be for that coin regardless of its date and mint mark? Seven figures has such a nice ring to it (okay, maybe six.)

On further examination of these population reports and coin publications, it’s made statistically obvious that there are many year/mint mark combinations of the Buffalo nickel where the highest grade recorded goes all the way “down” to MS-65 level. Having to sadly accept these realistic maximums is the source of the article’s title.

The only solace we can get is from at least knowing why our favorite coins were evidently “doomed” to less than a “perfect” strike even as the blank planchets were about to be hit by a die with tons of pressure behind it “back in the day”. (more…)

By Michael Fazzari

It’s almost 2008 and there is still no “little black box” to grade coins, but some have tried. This weekend, while looking through some old clippings, I came across an article about “The Expert.”

The subject of the article called to mind a joke I’d heard from a former associate, Charlie Hoskins. He used to say that the word “expert” came from two roots, “ex” meaning from or out of and “pert” a little drip under pressure. In this case, “The Expert” in the article was neither a drip nor a human. Read on.

About 20 years ago, one of the grading services developed an expensive gadget to grade coins called “The Expert.” Apparently, it was a video camera surrounded by a bank of high intensity lights set up to record the surface of a coin. The coin’s image was digitalized as each light flashed in sequence and the resulting image was stored in a computer. Read Full Story

By Coins Magazine posted on Numismaster
Grades listed are based on the following standards established by the American Numismatic Association. For more detailed descriptions, see Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins, by Ken Bressett and A. Kosoff (American Numismatic Association, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279.

Proof Coins

The term “proof” refers to a manufacturing process that results in a special surface or finish on coins made for collectors. Most familiar are modern brilliant proofs. These coins are struck at the Mint by a special process. Carefully prepared dies, sharp in all features are made. Then the flat surfaces of the dies are given a high, mirrorlike polish. Specially prepared planchets are fed into low-speed coining presses. Each proof coin is slowly and carefully struck more than once to accentuate details. When striking is completed, the coin is taken from the dies with care and not allowed to come into contact with other pieces. The result is a coin with a mirrorlike surface. The piece is then grouped together with other denominations in a set and offered for sale to collectors.

From 1817 through 1857, proof coins were made only on special occasions and not for general sale to collectors. They were made available to visiting foreign dignitaries, government officials, and those with connections at the Mint. Earlier (pre-1817) U.S. coins may have prooflike surfaces and many proof characteristics (1796 silver coins are good examples), but they were not specifically or intentionally struck as proofs. These are sometimes designated as “specimen strikings.” Read Full Article

During the past 35 years, ANACS has dedicated itself to the Numismatic community and has strived to exceed customers’ expectations by taking into account their needs and suggestions. With that in mind, ANACS is proud to announce the introduction of the sleek and dynamic Clearview 7™ holder.

ANACS has improved on the original Clearview holder, improving durability, while maintaining integrity. The stylish new capsule allows not only for easy grade and denomination identification, but a full view of the coin and its rim. Also, no final product is complete without the ANACS hologram, which is located on the reverse and serves as our stamp of authenticity.

Coupled with improvements to the Clearview holder, ANACS has also chosen to eliminate the classic holder used to encapsulate details coins, therefore returning to a unity of encapsulation. Details graded coins are now encapsulated just as problem free coins with appropriate designations on their labels. This, along with the streamlined design, allows for easier storage.