Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 36

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

Buffalo & Jefferson Nicklels

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1649		1915 Buffalo Nickel. NGC graded Proof 67. A resplendent coin. Only 1,050 Proofs struck. Sparkling golden to nickel-fresh iridescence permeates this Matte Proof beauty with a life of its own. Add a sky-scraping level of mint frostiness, razor-sharp design, extra sharp rims, and the appeal is very tempting. Pop 30; 4 finer; 3 in 68; 1 in 69. It appears that even the artist who designed this piece, James Earle Fraser, preferred the familiar term "buffalo" to the more zoologically correct bison. Semantics aside, the model for the nickel's reverse is known to have been a bull named Black Diamond. This animal was then a resident of New York City's Central Park Zoo and was already about seventeen years old at the time. Fraser's own correspondence reveals his exasperation in attempting to keep this beast posed in profile as depicted on the coin. Evidently quite uncooperative, it insisted on confronting the artist head on and would return to this stance immediately after being corrected. Black Diamond has occasionally been cited as the model for the $10 United States Note of 1901, the so-called "buffalo bill." This attribution is incorrect, as the greenback actually portrays Pablo, a star attraction at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. This mistaken identity is understandable, as the $10 note was in use alongside the nickel through the late 1920s. (For a detailed account of this fascinating coin, see David W. Lange's The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels.). Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,200. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1650		1915-S Buffalo Nickel. PCGS graded MS-65 PQ. A gorgeous example. Well struck and spot free. Lovely natural bluish-violet and rose gold toning. A satiny matte-like gem with resilient underlying luster as a solid foundation for the beautiful highlights. From center to periphery, the coin is generally well struck with just a hint of weakness at the bison's head. Worthy of a premium bid. Pop 90; 26 in 66; 3 in 67. (PCGS # 3929) . Estimated Value $2,500 - 2,750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1651		1916 Buffalo Nickel. PCGS graded MS-66. Well struck with partial golden toning on both sides. Bold but satin luster, the coin well toned to a deep sunset gold and silvery blue through which silver color still persists. This is a nicely struck example exhibiting fine detail to all the high points, barring only the central hair at the Indian's cheek and an area of the buffalo at and above the shoulder. Pop 119; 9 in 67. (PCGS # 3930) . Estimated Value $650 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $690
Lot 1652		1917-S Buffalo Nickel. NGC graded MS-66. Nice original light toning. Well struck. With a razor-sharp strike over most elements of the design, this coin is definitely in the minority among extant '17-S buffalos. We really admire the surfaces, too, over which cascading satin luster glistens in the virtual nonappearance of abrasions, visible, hidden or otherwise. The external evidence of its grade is one of warm russet-gold iridescence, but we do note a thin swirl of nickel-blue patina in areas of the field and on the devices. A great advantage this has is its premium-quality Gem level, and housed in an inert NGC it will continue to retain this outward perfection. This rare high-grade example is near the top of the PCGS pop for the issue, and it is certain to see spirited bidding among Registry Set collectors. Pop 7; 1 finer in 66 Star. Estimated Value $6,000 - 7,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $7,475
Lot 1653		1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel. PCGS graded EF-40. Nice clear overdate. Popular overdate. Pop 20. A attractively toned example of the rare overdate, with rich golden gray patina on both sides. All devices well struck for the issue, and clearly defined for the grade, with a nice sharp (and picturesque) overdate. The 7 is easily seen underneath the 8 digit. The bison's shoulder detail is strong; the horn just merges through wear with the top of the head, possibly due to a slight amount of weakness in the strike at this point in the design. Very elusive in all grades, but impressively so in the higher circulated grades like Extremely Fine (PCGS # 3939) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1654		1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel. NCS graded Sharpness of EF-40 Corroded. Very rough surfaces, black and corroded, still an overdate buffalo and a rarity as such. Estimated Value $500 - 750. The Victor Kramer Collection. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $978
Lot 1655		1918-S. PCGS graded MS-63. Light toning on both sides. About as fully struck as these are normally found for '18-S, with just a trace of weakness at the hair and above the braid, and similar soft detail in parts of the bison's head, shoulder, and rear quarters. Lustrous and choice. Pop 117. (PCGS # 3940) . Estimated Value $1,700 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,300
Lot 1656		1919-S Buffalo Nickel. NGC graded MS-65. Well struck with even toning on both sides. Very scarce date in this condition. There is a small mark on the Indian's cheek but that is all, no spotting. A frosty gem 1919-S is a great rarity when found with strong underlying luster, like this, and from dies that reinforce the beauty of the design by leaving behind a sharp impression. Pop 11; none higher at NGC. The end of World War I saw a lessened need for small circulating change in America. This translated into a reduction in buffalo nickel production at both the Denver and San Francisco Mints in 1919. As far as the latter facility is concerned, the total number of coins delivered that year amounted to a little more than 7.5 million pieces. This low mintage figure, when coupled with extensive circulation, explains why the 1919-S is scarce in all but the lowest grades (PCGS # 3943) . Estimated Value $8,000 - 10,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $8,625
Lot 1657		1923. PCGS graded MS-66. Nice strike with light gold toning. The nickel-bright hue reciprocates between levels of frost and satin-texture on this lustrous coin, as said, it is well struck with rocking-fresh surfaces. A beautiful specimen. Pop 82; 8 in 67; none finer at PCGS. (PCGS # 3949) . Estimated Value $950 - 1,050. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,093
Lot 1658		1925 Buffalo Nickel. ANACS graded MS-66. Mostly untoned. An more than moderately bright and lively gem with strong luster and a confident, no-compromises strike typical of the Philadelphia Mint. Everything you would want from the grade, and probably then some. During 1925, a real estate investing boom occurred in the state of Florida that rivaled, and in many ways surpassed, the California real estate boom of 1887 and the current real estate activity in the East and West Coasts today. At its height, prices for some of the tonier lots in Miami eclipsed the figure of a similar plot in New York: for instance, the sale of a Miami property for more than $300 a front foot eclipsed the $212 figure for a plot at the northwest corner of Forty-fourth Street and Fifty Avenue in New York City! But, as they do, things cooled off in late 1925, with an onrush of bankruptcies and deflating of the high prices. A damaging hurricane that hit Florida in late 1925 didn't improve the situation any! (PCGS # 3954) . Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1659		1928-D. PCGS graded MS-65. Nice strike with lovely gold toning. All but fully struck, with just a small area of softness on the hair near the braid, etc. A gleaming, eye-catching, and thoroughly original '28-D. Pop 253; 28 in 66; none finer at (PCGS # 3964) . Estimated Value $700 - 750. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 1660		1929 Buffalo Nickel. PCGS graded MS-66. Lovely original toning. A lustrous example, nicely preserved with rippling color. The strike is crisp in most areas, though some lack of detail may be noted at the hair above the braid an on the bison's shoulder. A few tiny marks in the hair above the braid as well, plus light flyspecks on the forehead and face. Pop 101; 1 in 67 as best by PCGS. (PCGS # 3966) . Estimated Value $950 - 1,050. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $891
Lot 1661		1929-S. PCGS graded MS-66. Well struck with nice original toning. A one-in-a-thousand example of this San Francisco issue, with abundant luster that shimmers over near-pristine surfaces. Pop 120; 4 in 67 (PCGS # 3968) . Estimated Value $1,100 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,150
Lot 1662		1936-S. PCGS graded MS-67. Well struck with lovely lilac toning. A superb specimen! Pop 52: None finer. (PCGS # 3979) . Estimated Value $1,100 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,380
Lot 1663		1937-D Buffalo Nickel. 3 legs. NGC graded MS-64. Nice golden toning on both sides. This attractive piece has fresh surfaces that are almost frosted with pleasant, glowing underlying nickel-gray sheen with colorful accents. A touch of weakness is seen at the hair around the braid and on the bison, but here it is known that the dies were heavily reground to obliterate some clash marks, resulting in a weakened image on both sides. The regrinding also removed a portion of the buffalo's front leg. Popular key date. Pop 178; 40 in 65; 14 in 66; 1 in 67 Star. Estimated Value $5,000 - 6,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $7,475
Lot 1664		1937-D Buffalo Nickel. 3 legs. NGC graded MS-62. Lightly toned. A satiny gray and russet example with subdued rather than strong underlying luster. Nicely struck, though not fully so, the 3-legged pieces rarely are -- still, close enough to full that it is worthy of being mentioned. Indeed, the strike of the present coin easily rivals that of some MS63 and MS64 examples we have seen offered in auctions. Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $2,875
Lot 1665		1937-D Buffalo Nickel. 3 legs. NGC graded AU-58 FS-020.2. A fair degree of original luster still spins smoothly on the toned surfaces of this elusive mint error. The strike is typical in most areas, detailed enough to be desirable, but because it was struck from worn dies, not as crisp as on regular issue 1937-D nickels. Only the fore-hoof shows on the buffalo; the remainder of the lower leg was obliterated by repolishing of the dies after the dies clashed together. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,400. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,725
Lot 1666		1937-D Buffalo Nickel. 3 legs. PCGS graded AU-55. Nice even toning; some residual luster plus the look of a coin struck by worn dies. The 3-legged buffalo nickel is one of the most talked about coins in American numismatics (PCGS # 3982) . Estimated Value $950 - 1,050. The Emile A. Tartakow Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,438
Lot 1667		1937-D Buffalo Nickel. 3 legs. PCGS graded AU-53. Nice even toning. Desirable with this controlled strike, an unusual coin to see with sharp detail (PCGS # 3982) . Estimated Value $925 - 1,025. The Emile A. Tartakow Collection. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,150
Lot 1668		1943/2-P Jefferson Nickel. PCGS graded MS-66. Nice strike with pretty light toning. Would be even finer were it not for some granularity in the strike of the portrait (as made). Pop 25; 3 in 67. (PCGS # 4019) . Estimated Value $600 - 800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $805
Lot 1669		1944-P Jefferson Nickel. NGC graded MS-67 Star; 5FS. Wonderful rainbow toning that takes the breath away. And speaking of "away" that is what bidders will want to do to the price guides, throw them away, since this piece will require a lot of concentration and effort to bid it away from the others who will be contending for it. Pop 1; finest graded. Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $3,450
Lot 1670		1945-P Jefferson Nickel. Doubled die reverse. NGC graded MS-66 W; FS-030. Both the strike and satiny luster on this popularly collected coin are simply outstanding, and only the presence of a few scattered abrasions on the portrait precludes a Superb rating. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000. View details and enlarged photos	Unsold
Lot 1671		1946-D Jefferson Nickel. NGC graded MS-67 Star. Beautiful natural toning on both sides. Almost full steps. A remarkable superb gem example, and one for the record books! Pop 1; Finest graded. (PCGS # 4029) . Estimated Value $500 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $776