We all know that one of the main problems with buffalo nickels is that the date wears off and then once ambiguous the value diminishes greatly. I was reading where certain chemical processes are able to extract the underlying Widmanstätten patterns inside cut nickel iron meteorites. I've also read before where emulsion in certain chemicals in a forensic lab can restore serial numbers that have been filed off firearms. Has anyone ever attempted any of these processes on a buffalo nickel to restore the date? I mean if its dateless and next to worthless anyways I can't imagine you could devalue it much more by "cleaning" it. Just a thought.
Yes, there is actually a product called Nic-A-Date that is used to do this. You place it on the area where the date was, let it set and then rinse it off. http://www.amazon.com/Nic-A-Lene-Ni...TF8&qid=1340901265&sr=8-1&keywords=nic-a-date Although it is damaging to otherwise "healthy" coins...if the nickel's date is completely worn off it cannot be worthless. So, this product really won't damage a dateless nickel.
What is really aggravating when you find dateless buffers in the wild(from roll searches) is turning it over and seeing a D or S beneath the FIVE CENTS and thinking of the opportunity lost. Yup, have about a dozen of them with mintmarks.
Yeah, you wonder how many of those S's could be 1913 type II. To the OP, you can use the product Camaro stated to restore the dates quite easily. Just do not make the mistake of thinking if you DO find a valuable date yours is worth anything close to book. Restored date coins are worth significantly less than regular specimens. You can always tell since the Nic A Date will always leave a permanent stain in the area in which its used. Some have applied it to the entire coin so this stain does not stand out as much, but either way collectors will know its a restored date coin.
You might also try reading this thread http://www.cointalk.com/t28021/ BTW, I still prefer the results vinegar give.
I am doing my first experiment with vinegar, but saw somewhere to add a dash of hydrogen peroxide. I did that, and within one day, I can see a few dates clearly, a few are very faint, and only a couple are still slick. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
Has anyone ever tried using hotsauce? It has acid in it and I used it to clean grime off of pennies before. I am soaking a dateless buffalo in it now. See if it works any faster or better. Will post result. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
Yes hot sauce has acid in it.....acetic acid otherwise known as vinegar. And I'm pretty sure that vinegar has more vinegar in it than hot sauce does.
