I have many, many, many, many Buffalo Nickels. And all weight around 5 Grms. some 5.05 5.06 some under 5 Grms. (Normal because the use). BUT THIS ONE, HAS A MOST CLEAR WHITE AND ALSO THE WEIGHT IS 5.22 GRMS. Any recommendation to test the material "welcome". The only test I did all ready, was the Bell ding-ding-ding. And worked positive for Silver. Thank a lot for your opinion.
Counterfeit maybe. Strange markings on both sides, doubling of the date and of "five cents" on the reverse. It wouldn't be nutty to counterfeit nickels in the 1930's, when a person might work a ten hour day and make $2.00.
Counterfeit using a most expensive material? I don't think so. Good, Texas John; you saw the doubling. I saw the doubling too. But I think the material fact is most important right know. There are so many coins with doubling all ready. Thank for your opinion.
How would this happen? I could only imagine this if it was struck on a dime or quarter, but the size isn't right for that.
Possibly a heavy silver plating... I noticed the "orange peel" effect below "Liberty" and the large feather. I think someone has messed with this coin, and it's just a regular buff with added surface (which results in added weight).
That "orange peel" effect is common on buffalos and comes from worn dies. It may be silver plated, it may just be cleaned. At 5.22 grams it is just outside the legal tolerance range but not enough to convince me it is a fake. A specific gravity test should tell you if it is silver or not.
It looks to be plated. If you look closely around the cheek and nose, you can see what looks like a peeling effect of some of the plating. The weight would be right for plating. Coins by the truckload were plated to be sold on the home shopping network over the years.
Thank AWORDREATED. I'll try that one; (Specific gravity measurement). Today I'm planning to do the Sulfur Test. All I pay for that coin was $1.00 Thank again. I did the measurement with a Micrometer. It's Buffalo inside higher spot (.073"). Buffalo inside lower spot (.052"). Thickness of the ring itself (.078") and the total Diameter is (0.837") REMEMBER THAT. I'm NOT yet 100% sure it's silver. Maybe it's only a overdosis of copper o nickel.
This is the 1971 Eisenhower Dollar overweight also (23.42 Grms). I did today THE WHITE PAPER TEST. And both coins Buffalo-Nickel and Eisenhower dollar ARE NOT SILVER. At least I learned this eassy way to test silver.
Tolerance was 5 Grams +/- .194 grams Like I said your coin is very slightly out of tolerance, about .03 grams heavy
