Buffalo nickel collectors - MUST READ! I am writing this guide to inform fellow coin collectors and investors about my recent coin buying experience on ebay. I spotted a couple of very nice looking early date S and D mint Buffalo nickels from a seller who I noticed was registered in a foreign country. The seller had 100% positive feedback, guaranteed authenticity, and offered a return privilege, so I figured this would be OK. But I wondered why or how such nice early date nickels found their way to the Czech Republic, only to be offered at auction now. I determined a price I was willing to pay and set about winning the auctions, which I did. They were promptly delivered to my door, and I was at first very pleased with my purchase, as they had a very nice look to them.

The coins were fakes, expertly crafted castings. They were so well done that the obverse and reverse details were near perfect in every way! As an avid collector of Buffalo nickels, have built two sets over the years, I was impressed. They had original looking surfaces, a little toning or patination, even a little dirt in the recessed areas that most all circulated Buffalos have. One even had what looked like planchet striations! They measured out to be 21.4mm in diameter, slightly bigger than the mint standard 21.2mm - about .008" diameter too large, which further validated my thoughts.

My experience in the art of lost wax casting gave me the clues I needed to identify these as counterfeits. I know the craft's techniques and capabilities well. In the hands of a skilled person, one can cast the fine details of a fingerprint. I noticed with the naked eye that the edges of the coins had a fine beveled edge to them, and they should have been square. When looked at under magnification it was clear that these coins had been worked by hand with the aid of a tiny belt sander, and there were fine grinding marks all the way around where the sprue(s) had been trimmed.

In David Lange's excellent book, entitled The Complete Guide To Buffalo Nickels - 1992; He states "As long as there have been coins there have been counterfeiters. Due to its low face value, the Buffalo nickel was rarely targeted by those attempting to pass phony nickels at face value. More common is the counterfeit or altered coin intended for the numismatic marketplace... Quality counterfeits that could deceive experienced authenticators are thus far unknown for the buffalo nickel series. Or perhaps, they have not yet been detected."

I submit that there is now an organized effort to slip these into the marketplace, and past the super alert collector. ebay is the perfect venue for such deception. Buyers beware - there are some good fakes out there.

Just added 11/17/07, an informative little article about casting coins credited to NGC grading consultant Skip Fazzari - go to  www ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?NewsletterNewsArticleID=407

Mike - mikesartifacts     If you have found this guide to have been helpful in any way, click on the YES button below. Thanks!