BUFFALO NICKELS

Cleaning Buffalo Nickels

Probably the second most asked question after "how much is my coin worth?" is "Should I clean a Buffalo Nickel, what will happen to it, and how do I do it?"

First of all it's not a good idea to buy a cleaned coin and definitely not a coin that has been polished. Once any chemical has been applied to a coin, the chemical reaction, although slow and almost undetectable can change the coin in the future. It can become stained, eroded, pitted, rusted, brittle, change color and sometimes become very dark.

True the coin becomes more attractive, but keep in mind that the person selling the coin may have cleaned or polished it to make it more attractive.

On rare occasions it may be necessary to clean a coin because it may be covered in tar, oil or been painted with nail polish. I will not make any recommendations on what to use, because not all readers are adults, and any use of chemicals can be dangerous and should be only done by adults and preferably a coin dealer or experienced collector.

TAKE THE TEST -

WHICH COIN IS IN BEST CONDITION?





In the above examples, the coin on the left appears to be in much better condition than the coin on the right. The coin on the left has been cleaned and polished to make it more attractive and drive up the value for resale.

The coin on the right is actually a better grade than the one on the left.

look at the hair on the shoulder of the Buffalo, most of the hair is worn off the coin on the left. Don't be discouraged. If you already bought a cleaned coin, and/or polished coin - keep it.

All Buffalo nickels are valuable to the holder



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